


Instinct

by EaSnowPw



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alpha Stephen Strange, Alpha Steve Rogers, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Beta Bucky Barnes, Chapters differ, Ex Stony, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Omega Tony Stark, Smut, Some Family Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-26
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-07-03 00:59:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 22,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15808089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EaSnowPw/pseuds/EaSnowPw
Summary: Tony is an omega in heat, but what is Stephen?(Steve and Bucky are the focus in chapter 2)





	1. Alpha and omega

Tony had heard of omegas spending their heat alone and how it could last anywhere between a few days and a week. Personally, he'd never had to deal with it, what with his playboy days and Steve and Pepper. He was Tony Stark. He had stuff to invent, governments to humiliate and enemies to one up. He didn't have time to be a feverish horny mess. Now, he apparently did.

He didn't have an alpha anymore. Pepper had broken off the engagement and he could honestly understand why. Alpha women were ridiculously strong, but he was asking for a bit much. Steve was... in the past, where he belonged. And he just wasn't in the mood for getting some bimbo who would no doubt scream to high heavens that Tony Stark was marked. Pepper was a woman. Women never marked. They weren't so ridiculously possessive. Neither did betas. So it had to be an alpha man. Oh, the magazines would have a field day.

That left him with the degradating option of walking around in heat. To be fair, it was only mildly distracting while working in his lab, so he figured he'd do that. His heat came on a Tuesday. Wednesday rolled around and he was still going strong, but now a dilemma appeared. And what a Strange dilemma it was. Pun fully intended.

Strange and him had weekly more or less formal meetings about recent threats and how they were progressing in their fights against old ones. It was usually an excuse to drink a beer or two together (which was equivalent to apple juice to both of them) and chat. The doctor was smart and witty, easy to talk to and pleasant company. He could totally use that during his time of need. There was one tiny little problem: what the actual fuck was Stephen?

Most alphas were assholes or at least dominant, particularly with omegas. While Strange could be quite intimidating, it didn't seem to be his default mode, even with Tony who, with all his bravado, had to fight tooth and nail to be taken seriously in this world of alphas (seriously, almost all the Avengers and definitely all his colleagues) he was stuck in. So that was off?

Betas were 100% done with the stupidity related to alphas and omegas. Case in point, Bruce and Rhodney. Frankly, Bruce deserved a break so it was quite a blessing that he was a beta. So if Strange was a beta, they could both pretend that Tony was fine, like Rhodney just did the previous day. Betas could smell the heat, but it didn't drive them crazy the way it did alphas. Speaking of which, having an alpha around would drive Tony up the wall as well.

He could be another power omega, he mused. Well, then they could commiserate. Heats tended to synchronise for omegas who spent time together.

An hour before Strange was bound to open a portal in his lab, Tony stared at his phone, wondering whether he should avoid all problems and cancel. Was this a good idea? What if he was an alpha? Well, his heat would end much faster, that much he knew. Did he want to try Strange, so to say? He wasn't averse to the idea, but that could have been the heat talking. In fact, he would take him even if he was an omega, which wouldn't have much effect on ending his heat. Oh... that was a good revelation to have before meeting the other man. But, seriously, Tony needed to get his shit together. How could he not know? They had been friends for a decent amount of time.

As Tony was tinkering with his latest invention, he heard the familiar whooshing of a portal and braced himself. Time to find out if he'd been right and Strange was a beta...

* * *

 

Oh boy, he'd placed his bets wrong. Very wrong. Because as the other man stepped in, Tony heard a long groan which could have honestly come from either of them. God, did alphas smell exquisite when an omega was in heat. He spun around and found the other man leaning against a table, panting lightly and looking like he could eat him alive. Which, again, in his feverish mind, wasn't such a bad idea.

"I was wondering where you were on the spectrum, doc."

The feverish look briefly shifted into a glare.

"Could've just asked. This is, by far, the worst way of finding out." He took a deep breath and groaned. "I should go." Tony whined in the back of his throat. He couldn't believe he could make that sound, but it seemed to arouse the other man even more. Strange closed his eyes, trying to pull himself together. It just wasn't happening. "Do you want to ride this one with me? I don't mind." He lifted his hands in the now familiar gesture of making a portal. "If not..."

"Yes." Arms fell and the doctor just stared at him in disbelief for a few moments. "I'm sure. Just..." Tony groaned and made a vague motion with his hands. "Condom."

Strange did something with his hands and a condom appeared out of thin air, because of course. Tony only had the time to chuckle before he was naked, pressed against the wall with Strange onto him. What the...?

"I'm sorry..." the alpha panted in his ear, before kissing him and scoping him up.

"Don't be. We'll talk later," Tony whispered against his lips. Strange groaned. The engineer briefly wondered who was more affected by the heat because honestly? Strange looked wrecked. Steve and Pepper always had looked breathless, but Strange was just wow!

There was barely any foreplay necessary for either of them so Strange (who had somehow magicked the condom on) slid in and began thrusting without missing a beat, encouraged by Tony's groans and pleas for "harder, harder, that's it, right there!" They both felt the knot form, binding them together, but that didn't deter Strange at all. If anything, it only made him go harder. He was laying kisses on the side of Tony's neck and it distantly occurred to the omega that he should feel self conscious about the mark, but he was too close to the edge to care anymore. If the doctor could just bite him, mark him as his own... If he would just...

But Strange did something equally good. With one hand drifting down to Tony's dick, the other expertly teased a nipple. A particular harsh thrust, coupled with a jerk on his hand and a suck on his other nipple and the omega climaxed with a primal howl, spilling himself between them. Strange followed immediately, but Tony was too caught up in his orgasm to feel the alpha's. What he did notice was that all it took was a flick of the wrist and they were both clean. Freaking wizards.

Strange leaned his forehead against the wall, panting lightly. Knot having fully formed, he couldn't really thrust anymore, so he just lazily grinded their hips together. Tony relaxed, soaking up the familiar warmth of another's body.

"So... talk?" the omega offered.

"I could've used a heads up," Strange muttered.

"Do you hate that this happened?"

"No. But I still would've appreciated a warning." Strange sighed blissfully. Tony glanced at him, well, as much as he could due to their proximity.

"You alright there doc? Alphas are usually a lot rougher."

The man clicked his tongue in distaste.

"A ploy to hide their vulnerability. Quite foolish I'm afraid, denying the natural behaviour during knotting due to societal pressures."

Right, he's an actual medical doctor.

"Meaning all my previous partners have been lying to me?" A half shrug. "Seriously?"

"Not intentionally, per say. And not only to you, but to themselves mostly. This is the one time alphas can relax. Their reproductive needs are fulfilled and there honestly isn't much to do until we can separate. We're in a safe environment, so there's hardly a need to keep watch. This is arguably the one moment when an alpha can think straight."

"Arguably."

Strange pressed his nose into his hair and took a deep breath, inhaling his scent deeply like Tony was his own personal drug. His hips twitched, shifting, and Tony gasped in pain. Strange froze.

"Shit! I'm sorry..."

"No, it's fine. Let's just..." The engineer looked around. "Chair." He held on tight to the alpha as the other shifted to get his magic ring.

Strange conjured a portal to his bedroom at the sanctum and stepped in, then carefully sat on the bed. He leaned onto his back , encouraging Tony to lie with him. He conjured a water bottle for both of them. Well, that was much better. After settling down, Tony casually commented

"I can get used to this. Can I come to you for all my future heats?" He pretended not to notice Strange absently caressing his back. A hand drifted up, where his neck and shoulder met, on his left side. No answer. "Strange?"

"That's not my name."

"Of course it is. Otherwise all the jokes wouldn't be nearly as fun," Tony sniped because dammit, he could feel the alpha's hand getting close to his old mark and he hated this stupid feeling of whatever the fuck it was (guilt? shame?).

"Call me by my first name."

"Fine. Stephen, stop this." Tony pulled himself up, dislodging the offending hand. The alpha looked confused because of course! They were knotted, why would the omega suddenly take offense to a hand on his back?

"Who was it?" Stephen asked. The engineer looked away. After a few moments, Stephen continued. "You wanted me to mark you, so I assume that bond is gone."

Tony didn't even question how Stephen knew that, because he was aware that he tended to get vocal in the heat of the moment.

"It was Steve Rogers." To his annoyance, the doctor didn't seem surprised. "But yeah, we're done. He had a beta and went chasing after him. So whatever. Mark me." Most alphas would have jumped at the chance of claiming an omega. Tony easily noticed the way Stephen's eyes darkened and was waiting for it to happen because whatever! It meant something once, although it had been a pretty well guarded secret, but now it was a mark of shame.

"No."

Okay, alright, but being denied something most would jump at the chance of getting insulted Tony on several levels because was he really that repulsing to the alpha? He just wanted a new mark, but whatever, they had only jumped at this in the heat of the moment, Stephen- no, scratch that- Strange obviously rushed in due to crazy hormones and Tony should have made that stupid call and said 'Hey, I'm on my heat so can we not meet this week?' All this was stupid and how much much longer were they going to be knotted? He would call forward his armour and leave as soon as they separated. This had been a bad idea and fuck him for letting Steve mark him and fuck him for thinking fucking Strange would be a good idea!

Suddenly, as his brain was overworking itself, he found a warm pair of lips pressed against his, shaky hands gently cradling his face. It was unfair that Strange could kiss him so gently while he had his dick in him. He pulled back a little and sighed.

"Better? I lost you there for a moment."

"Still bitter." Tony was honestly trying to sulk, but it wasn't working too well. "Why won't you mark me?"

"I... I don't like marking."

Tony tried to think of a more stupid thing he'd heard in his life. He came empty handed. His face must have showed his thoughts, because Stephen kept talking.

"I never marked anyone. I was going to... once or twice, you know, because... Well..." Stephen seemed to be struggling, then he just huffed. "Ah, fuck it... I was taught that it's more about commitment, okay? Like engagement or getting married. Somewhere between those two."

"Oh..." At least that made sense. Then Tony grew agitated. "Oh! Wait a second, Steve and I were nowhere near that! And I certainly wasn't asking you to marry me!" Stephen chuckled and kissed him again. "Though I was asking if I could ride my heats with you in the future and you oh so rudely ignored the question."

"Of course." Stephen rolled his eyes and pulled Tony down again. The omega shifted around a bit, but nope, still not good to go. Usually, Steve tried to go for a few rounds while they were knotted and get Tony off without actually moving much (because ouch), but this was a nice change of pace, especially at their age. Tony even figured he could just return to his lab when they were done there instead of sleeping off the whole day like he used to. Yeah, he could get used to this. "If you really want it, I could mark you." For a moment, Tony thought he'd fallen asleep and was dreaming.

"What?" he asked without moving.

"If you really feel the need to get rid of Rogers' mark, I don't mind."

"What was the whole 'marks are serious business' speech for then?"

"That's how I feel. But I'm willing to make an exception for you."

"Really?"

"Yes. I figured that it must be painful to see that mark in the mirror. Though this doesn't change the fact that you will still have a mark, just from me instead of him." Stephen hummed in thought. "This reminds me. You had no idea whether I was an alpha, but you had considered the option. Did you really think this through?"

Tony weighted the alpha's words. Now that they were knotted and his stupid feverish need had died down, he had to admit to himself that the concept of a good dicking had been a bit too tempting to rationally consider. But then again... he'd been considering taking Stephen even if he was an omega and that would do nothing for his heat, so it wasn't just feverish need.

"I guess. I don't regret it, if that's what you're asking. What about you? I knew, sort of, what I was getting into, but you? You're not like other alphas and that tipped me off. I was sure you were a beta." Now, if Stephen was a typical alpha, Tony was in trouble. Because you just don't tell an alpha you pegged them as beta. You might as well call them women, and even that was barely half the insult. But Stephen didn't take offence. Tony felt his shoulder shift in a half shrug before he spoke.

"I try not to let those ridiculous primal urges dictate my behaviour in civilized society so I guess I could come off as a beta. It helped when I worked at the hospital... kept things professional..." Tony felt the body under him heat up as Stephen's voice turned breathless. It happened sometimes. The knot would weaken and they both got horny again. Afterwards, they would go right back to being stuck together. The omega felt the man shift a little, testing their newfound freedom. "Ride me," he growled in a voice which removed all doubts. Stephen was an alpha through and through.

After they were both spent, Tony flopped back down.

"How many times?" he asked. Stephen seemed stuck in that vulnerable cloud from earlier.

"2 or 3, usually." The 'reknotting' depended on the alpha. Steve didn't do that at all, but then again, he kept Tony stimulated the entire time they were knotted.

"Good. So you ignored my question again and I should really stop giving you the chance to do that."

Stephen groaned. Go figure, Tony was a chatterbox even impaled on a dick. The sorcerer figured he should try harder the next time the knot weakened. Maybe he could render Tony speechless.

"What question?"

"Did you want this?"

The doctor snorted in disbelief.

"Have you ever met even one alpha who didn't want you?" he asked.

"You didn't have to say it like that..." Tony complained.

"You didn't have to ask it like that."

Perhaps Stephen was right and being knotted made people smarter, because it kicked sex off the priority list for his brain. Now Tony could swear that Stephen was actually encouraging him to ask another question, the 'right' one. He pulled himself up and began kissing the side of the other man's neck, grinning as he heard the breathless sighs and small gasps.

"What are you doing?" the sorcerer whispered.

"Keeping you alpha high. Is it working?" All he got in response was a confirming moan. Tony pulled back to meet his partner's eyes. Stephen still had his pupils blown wide, eyes now more black than blue or green or whatever they usually were. "Now, lets keep up the questions, alright?"

"I wasn't planning on lying, but proceed." A playful smirk played on his lips.

"This is more fun," Tony teased. "Do you like me?"

"I wasn't dropping by every Wednesday hoping for this, Tony."

"That was a friend zone more than anything. You know what I mean." Well, that seemed to crush the lull on the alpha's face. "How much? Did you want to bond? You saw the mark and I know you want to mark me even though I know you can't smell him on me anymore. Pepper's been around for long enough by now. Her smell may have lingered, though I doubt it. So how much?"

"Less and less now."

Tony rolled his eyes. Yep, alpha, alright. Stephen would sooner try and make a run for it when the knot loosened (difficult at best) than admit anything. The omega tightened his inner muscles in reprimand, making the other moan and arch his back.

"Don't do that," Stephen complained.

"Answer me."

There was a brief staring contest between the two. Tony clenched down again, a lot tighter. He ignored the painful sting of being stretched, completely enjoying the look of painful pleasure on the sorcerer's face.

"I said don't do that," Stephen snapped, alpha dominance fully on display. Tony instantly relaxed. He hated that particular ability alphas had, of ordering omegas around. So many rapists took advantage of it that it wasn't even funny. The disgust must have showed on his face, because the next thing coming out of Stephen's mouth was "Shit! I'm sorry."

"Whatever." He wondered whether there was a magical way of separating. They stood in sulky silence for some time, until Tony felt Stephen heat up again. He felt nauseous. That particular ability was illegal in several states and using it alone was enough to send one to jail.

"Tony?" Stephen panted. "I didn't mean to order you around." He shifted his hips, moaning at the maddening friction.

"Whatever." But Tony was frantic again, like he was during heat before they met and his filter was gone. "I thought you were different."

"I asked you to stop. It was dangerous!"

"Then why didn't you say so?"

"Tony..." Stephen held onto the blanket under them, panting like he'd run a marathon. "You weren't going to listen."

Tony didn't move on principle at that point, even though the lack of friction was wearing on him too.

"You still didn't have to do that," he fired with as much heat as he could. Stephen squeezed his eyes closed and nodded.

"If you can stay like this for a few minutes, you'll probably be able to slide off... heat will be shorter, but not finished," the doctor explained.

"What?" He'd never heard of that.

"We did this..." Stephen was burning like crazy. "Hospital... knotted teens. Loose knot, sedated... always worked."

But that wasn't what Tony wanted.

"Tell me how much you like me and we're even." He rolled his hips in a circle, savouring the feeling of power running through his veins as the alpha submitted to him. An insignificant part of his brain was yelling about how you can't just force an alpha down like that and sooner or later, Stephen would live up to his status. Tony ignored it.

"I've had a crush on you since Titan, you idiot!" Stephen practically wailed. "I saw you in every stupid fucking future and I fell for you! How blind are you? Every fucking body noticed, even Pepper! She called me after she broke up with you. I was the first to know."

Well, that explained why it had been Stephen who looked after him when he got trashed after Pepper left. Truth be told, 'I needed your help but Wong took care of it in the meantime' was a pretty dumb excuse. But hey! Stephen confessed, although ouch, he could have not insulted Tony, thank you very much. And with that out of the way...

"Very blind, but also quite horny." Tony began slowly riding Stephen, just enough to keep them partially connected. It was driving both insane with lust. "I rode you last time. Think you can actually do some work for once?"

Stephen growled and spun them around. Tony barely had time to brace himself before Stephen started fucking him like their lives depended on it. The engineer moaned, lost in the pleasure as the alpha slammed into him, hitting his prostate every time. Tony arched his back and came, though he prayed they would do that again because honestly? Stephen should have done that every time.

After the alpha finished, they shifted around in bed again and he magically cleaned them again. Tony was seeing the pattern.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

Okay, it obviously took Stephen longer to return from his high. The sorcerer groaned. Another ruined moment.

"Pepper," he replied and he sounded just about done.

"But after?"

"I figured you just weren't that into me. I mean, you never seemed interested and we had a nice dynamic going. You were so not interested you thought I was a beta."

Tony scoffed. Stephen would never let him live that one down. Yes, alphas could smell omegas, who could only return the favour during heat.

"You don't act like an alpha and I'm not complaining, really. After Steve, I figured I'd only go for betas and female alphas... But I trust you, so here I am." He wiggled his ass for emphasis. Stephen chuckled fondly and wrapped his arms around him. "So what I'm saying is that maybe you could be my alpha from now on. Not just for the heats, but..." Tony looked for the right words. "You know."

Stephen leaned in to kiss him, then smiled.

"I know. Though I want to mark you now. That thing offends me."

"Then, by all means, doc!" Tony pushed himself up with a grin.

Stephen rose and shifted so he was sitting down with Tony straddling his hips. He smiled and cupped his face, then began with gentle kisses. It surprised Tony. He had expected the alpha to just go for it. Instead, the sorcerer was slowly, languidly kissing his face before he captured his lips for a long, unhurried kiss. He was taking his sweet time. His lips then moved down his neck while his hands drifted all over his body.

"Stephen..." Tony whispered, whining.

The alpha licked the old mark almost affectionately. However, Tony felt the way his hands tensed, squeezing his hips almost painfully. A low, primal growl escaped the alpha's throat. Then... pain. Tony whined again and the same feeling of vulnerability as the last time engulfed him. He didn't blame Steve, not really. He'd asked for a mark, hoping it would deter unwanted attention, but nope, not a chance. After their breakup, he'd been stuck with it, an old label.

Stephen had bit down harder than Steve had, maybe to cover the old mark. After a few moments, he pulled back to inspect his handiwork. Tony saw how hazy his eyes were, dark with desire and dominant satisfaction. They briefly cleared when Stephen startled and summoned bandages out of thin air to tend to the mark. That thing was ridiculous, it could easily get infected.

"Shit! Sorry, I... I got carried away," the doctor struggled to explain while bandaging the bite.

"It's fine, doc. You're an alpha."

"Yes, I'm an alpha, not a bloody animal," Stephen growled, frustrated with himself. Tony pulled him into a kiss. The alpha relaxed, dismissing the unused supplies. "I'm sorry." His body was heating up again.

"Go wild, doc. I can take it," Tony encouraged him. Stephen swallowed heavily and shook his head. Tony kissed the side of his neck, sucking with a hint of teeth. The sorcerer tensed. "Do it. Don't hold back. This is the last one, anyway, right?" Stephen nodded. " Go for it."

If Tony had any doubts about Stephen's alpha status, they were soon dismissed. Somehow, the sorcerer spun him around, impaled on his dick as he was, and shoved him down. Tony had time to grab the bed frame to use as leverage before the alpha really got going. His thrusts made the earlier fucking seem like child's play. He held Tony's hips in a bruising grip and the omega honestly wondered whether his hipbones would break from the strain. Oh well, he'd asked for this. Tony briefly looked over his shoulder and had to do a double take. Stephen was glowing. His magic was lighting up his body. The glow kept growing and Tony averted his eyes. He was close, anyway. Stephen pulled him up, wrapping his arms around him. Tony whined, arching his back. Stephen growled in that animalistic way only alphas did.

"Come for me, Tony," he almost ordered.

The omega immediately obeyed, his body wrecked by his orgasm as he came all over the bed. Stephen soon followed. Tony saw that his partner's arms were glowing like the sun, then returned to normal after his climax. Again, Stephen cleaned them up. This time, however, he slowly withdrew from his omega and got rid of the condom. Tony sighed in bliss. His heat was over.

They both lounged back on the bed, cuddling. Tony considered sleeping, but he wasn't that tired. Besides, he'd had a normal sleeping schedule for a week and he didn't want to ruin it. A quick look over his shoulder confirmed that Stephen was awake, too.

"Want something to eat?" the alpha offered. "Or drink?"

"I should go back to work..." Tony muttered, though he was pretty sure he would be denied. Alphas were 1000% more possessive after sex. Add a heat to the mixture and he was stuck with Stephen for a while.

"Eat dinner with me at least." Tony weighed the alpha's tone. It was both begging and ordering.

"Alright. But I need to go back afterwards."

Stephen nodded and sat up, then conjured a table with two chairs and food. Tony smiled and sat down in a chair, still naked because someone had left his clothes back in his lab.

"You're making me a portal home, right? I'm not walking naked all the way to the compound and the suit feels weird without clothes."

Stephen had the audacity to laugh at him.

"Of course." He gestured towards the ring on the nightstand. "Just tell me when."

They ate in relative silence, enjoying each other's company. Tony couldn't smell Stephen anymore, but he knew the alpha could. His eyes were half lidded and occasionally roaming over his body.

"Are we going loud and obnoxious about this? Press, tabloids, like you did with Pepper or are we going the Steve way?" the alpha asked casually.

"Which one do you prefer?"

"Rogers' version, definitely. But I'm telling Wong so he'll let me leave the sanctum more often."

"Then we go Rogers style. And how often are we talking here? I need my space." It was a clear defiance against his new alpha, but Tony had sworn to himself that he would never succumb to anyone the way he had to Steve. It had only fuelled that stupid alpha pride and chocked the omega. He needed to start off the right foot this new relationship, to draw his boundaries and have the alpha respect them, even if it went against their nature. Tony was a weird omega. He wanted to submit, but he also didn't want to be controlled. He had tried to allow Steve to control him and it had backfired spectacularly and led to confusion for both of them. So if Stephen didn't respect his boundaries, he'd just have to move on.

"A few days a week. And by days, I mean either mornings or afternoons, because Wong is a beta who puts alphas to shame. Plus I don't want to intrude in your life. And I have my own duties around here. So..." he shrugged.

"That's good. I think... I can work with that."

"I'll also co-sign the Accords and join the Avengers as an associate."

"So all I had to do was fuck you to get you to sign? Should've said that sooner," Tony muttered.

"I don't want you around all those alphas all the time," Stephen declared, eyes darkening. Tony refrained from rolling his eyes. Classical alpha dominance.

"Not happening. They're my teammates."

It seemed to have just occurred to Stephen what he'd actually said. He winced.

"Sorry. Can't help it. You do you, Tony, of course."

The omega distantly wondered whether Steve would have been so compliant had he just drawn his boundaries from the very start. It would have saved them both a lot of pain.

"It's fine. I understand that you just can't help it sometimes. I really do. But I trust you to control yourself and not do anything too..."

"Dramatic? Exaggerated?" Stephen sighed. "I'll try. Most sorcerers are either betas or omegas, so they taught me to control myself. I would have been kicked out had that not been the case, but you're also the first omega I claimed since becoming a sorcerer."

"That surprisingly makes sense," Tony admitted. "But don't deny your instincts too much. It's not healthy in the long run."

"I know. Don't worry about me."

"Oh, but I will." The omega grinned. "You're my alpha."

"Ha! And you're the omega. I'm the one watching over you."

Tony laughed. They were off to a good start.

* * *

 

When the rogue Avengers returned, Stephen was there, somewhere in the room. All the new Avengers were, to be fair, but Tony cared about Stephen's presence most. He was the only male alpha of the new team. Carol was also an alpha and a terrifying one at that, but Tony knew that she wasn't the one Steve would butt heads with.

Steve, as the main alpha of the old group, looked around the room. His eyes stopped on Tony and he seemed to register that someone else had marked the omega. The others were tense behind him. Steve shook hands with Tony, but it was mostly symbolic.

"Welcome back," the engineer said, half surprised that the super soldier hadn't ripped his arm off. Steve's eyes were glued to his neck, but Tony knew that he also smelled like his new alpha.

"It's good to be home."

They all introduced each other. Scott, the only omega of the rogues, immediately went to his alpha. The alphas seemed to zero in on Carol and Stephen, Wanda particularly focused on Carol and Steve on Stephen. Peter, another omega, was barely noticed, but Tony understood that it was mostly his age, not just his gender. Sam was talking to the kid, but wasn't showing any outward signs of dominance. Scott was too busy talking to Hope to socialise with others.

Soon enough, Carol and Wanda were done talking. The witch was not happy, but she now knew her place, so she moved on and asked Tony about Vision.

That left Steve and Stephen as the hot spot.

"Steve's a fiery one, but I think your new alpha will outdo him," a voice said behind him. Tony tensed. One Bucky Barnes was standing in front of him, head bowed in submission. The engineer sighed and extended his hand. Barnes stared at it, but shook it. His grip was surprisingly gentle. Right, a beta. "I'm sorry about the past. I feel like I owe you many apologies. I'm willing to make amends, but I don't think there's any humanly way I could ever make it up to you."

"You did many things that hurt me, but none of it was your fault. I hope we can start off the right foot. If you could control your alpha, I can do the same to mine."

Barnes grimaced, like he had bit into a lemon.

"I've been trying to control him for ages, but I'm sure you know how hard that is." Now it was Tony's turn to grimace. "I say we let them go at it."

Tony glanced at the two alphas. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but it didn't matter anyway. Their body language did. Stephen looked as strong as always, posture dominant, back straight. His lips were pressed into a thin line. Steve was tense, shifting a bit, but it was enough. With an eye roll, Stephen spun around and came to Tony. Barnes was tense, but there was a small grin on his face. You do not turn around like that from an alpha you submitted to.

Stephen briefly looked at the beta next to Tony, then nodded at him in acknowledgement.

"Mr Barnes."

"Dr Strange." Barnes extended his hand. Stephen briefly hesitated, but grabbed his hand for a handshake. The beta's grip was gentle. The sorcerer was wearing gloves, but Barnes was perceptive. He'd noticed that the man hadn't shaken hands with the other alphas. "I believe I should go to my alpha."

"You do whatever you feel the need to," Stephen replied easily. It was an offer to stay, Tony noticed. Barnes, as a beta, didn't represent a threat to the alpha.

"I'll see you around."

After Barnes left, Tony slid his hand into Stephen's and squeezed lightly. The sorcerer smiled.

"So how did it go?"

"Don't pretend you weren't watching," Stephen gently scolded. The other alphas were all watching them, mildly uncomfortable. They had a new main alpha. Two, in fact. Wanda was nowhere to be seen.

"I was and you were hot as hell out there, alpha." Tony laughed at the sorcerer's heated glare. Stephen pulled him into his arms and kissed him deeply, grinding their hips together.

"I told you not to call me that outside the bedroom." Stephen bit into his mark in light reprimand. Tony whined. The sound gathered unwanted attention. Every single alpha in the room turned towards them. Tony wanted to curl up and die.

"Guys, take it to the bedroom," Carol growled.

"Sorry." Stephen opened a portal and they stepped through. Tony wanted to yell at him or strangle him.

"Don't ever do that again in front of the others!" he screamed. Stephen frowned.

"Don't turn me on around the others and we're even."

Despite the engineer's sheer humiliation, he had to admit that Stephen had a point. Tony took a deep breath.

"Alright, fine. But you're hot as fuck when you establish dominance, my alpha."

He wasn't even sorry.

 


	2. Alpha vs alpha

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As promised, Steve and Stephen don't quite see eye to eye in the beginning.

Steve and Bucky grew up together and all was good. Bucky reached puberty first and the lack of changed behaviour scared both him and his parents. Why wasn't he growing ridiculously dominant or submissive? Why wasn't he showing off around other boys or being intimidated by them?

"He's a beta, Mr and Mrs Barnes. They are simply more balanced."

He remembers his mother crying tears of joy and his father frowning, but resigned. Oh well. At least he wasn't an omega. Betas could live their lives without those ridiculous societal standards.

Stevie also had a neutral reaction. Bucky honestly hoped that Stevie would be a beta like him, because with how small he was...

Whatever God lived above was certainly not listening to Bucky. Or it was and was now laughing its ass off. Because Stevie was an alpha. Probably the puniest and tiniest alpha ever, but undeniably an alpha.

And so, Bucky's watch began. __

* * *

 

Stevie was a tiny, but fierce little alpha who challenged everyone he saw. And, well, once the others inevitably got violent, Bucky had to step in and save his friend. For a beta, he sure did a lot of fighting.

They kinda lost touch once they got in the army, but oh, did Bucky worry about his fierce little alpha. Even when he got captured, he still couldn't stop thinking about his little alpha, stuck in a big war, way in over his head.

Then the new Steve busted in and saved him. From then on, Stevie became Steve because he finally understood why fate made Steve an alpha. He was tall. He was strong. He was overwhelming for other alphas by just existing. It was around that time that they properly started dating. As a beta, Bucky reigned Steve in a bit because although no longer small, he was still a hothead. The mark on Bucky's neck was solid proof of that. Fortunately, he still had his heart in the right place.

It all ended when Bucky fell into the enemy's hands again.

* * *

 

Being a beta, he had been the perfect candidate for the Winter Soldier. They drilled body language into him like none else. He could now tell what someone was from a glance.

So the moment he lay eyes on Tony Stark, the label 'omega' hit him like a freight train. But he knew better than to underestimate omegas. War had taught humanity that omegas weren't weak or frail and they could get particularly strong and menacing when they had enough. Tony was such an omega. Bucky had thought he would die in Siberia. He had actually seen himself being killed by Tony Stark. He still couldn't stomach the way they'd escaped, although Steve claimed that it had been necessary. Steve had ordered Tony to cease fire, then hit him. An omega would always obey, particularly the alpha they were mated to.

So yeah, if Stark decided to turn him into barbecue, Bucky couldn't exactly blame him. When Steve dragged him to the Avengers new hq, Bucky already had his will written and his death wish ready. But Stark didn't hate him, didn't blame him and Bucky was able to witness Steve finally getting outdone by another alpha. Don't get him wrong. Bucky loved Steve. They were mated. But the beta wasn't blind. After Stark, who for some unknown reason let Steve walk all over him, the blond needed someone to remind him that he wasn't the ultimate alpha. God was cruel by making that person Stark's new alpha, but whatever. Steve could use the lesson.

Bucky calmed down his seething and apparently humiliated alpha, then they returned to mingling. By then, Stark and Strange had already made a scene, and the other main alpha (Denvers?) had sent them off. Female alphas had their own ranks, but the mains occasionally clashed. Although uncommon, the woman seemed to have more authority among the Avengers. Moving on.

Was that kid chilling sideways on the wall the same one who'd grabbed his fist midpunch? Looked like it. Another strong omega. Bucky went to say hi.

They soon got settled in. Apparently, when you fight for a living, there are no hard feelings for an internal brawl. Whatever.

* * *

 

A few days later, when Bucky went to get his morning coffee (Steve was out for a jog, but Bucky didn't see the appeal), the main room was only occupied by one floating Stephen Strange reading an ancient book. Okay, fine. Bucky had met a talking raccoon. A levitating man didn't even make it to his list of top 10 weird things, but come on, it was morning. And that cape was definitely looking at him. That was a worthy inclusion.

"Is that cape alive?" Bucky asked, because at this point he had little to lose.

"Cloak of Levitation and yes, it is a sentient relic," the alpha replied. Okay. Number 3.

"Cool."

Bucky sat on the couch like a normal person. Strange closed his book and sat next to him with a mug of tea. Bucky tried to think of something to say. First thoughts were to ask about the other man's hands or Stark, but he quickly kicked those away. Nope. They weren't that close.

"You were raised by betas, right?" Less invasive and still a topic for conversation. Bucky mentally patted himself on the back. Strange looked at him for a long while.

"Why not a beta and an omega?"

"Omegas are facilitators for toxic alpha habits. Betas are 100% out of the loop and focus on manners," Bucky explained. "Though I could be wrong."

"No, you're right. Although my medical years were more varied from this point of view. What gave it away?"

"You're quite tame for an alpha, especially a pack leader. More like a beta." Ironically enough, he would have expected Strange to take offense, but he didn't. The doctor moved with the arrogance of someone sure of his position, but who couldn't care less about the unworthy competition. Bucky had noticed that Strange didn't really opress Steve, despite the other clearly challenging him. He just parried him every time he crossed the line. The beta was sure that his alpha would soon learn to behave. Strange and Carol were good as main alphas, despite one of them being absent so often.

"And you're quite fierce for a beta. How does your alpha feel about that?" Bucky winced. "That bad?"

"No, Steve is... You see, before this whole whatever the hell our life is now, he was quite a tiny alpha. So I had to look after him."

"Ah, babysitting duty. Not uncommon."

"Yeah, well... since he became, well, Captain America, I'm the tiny one. Took some getting used to, but we could hook up without either of us feeling less than..." He hesitated, unsure how to finish, but the other man got the main idea.

"Understandable," Strange conceeded, humming as he took a sip of his tea. Bucky never thought he'd be able to have a behavioural discussion with an alpha, but here he was. "But if I were to return your deduction, I would have to say that you were the result of a male alpha female omega household."

"Yes. It was a bit of let down that I ended up a beta, though I'd rather not know how I would have been as an omega."

"Most alpha fathers want an alpha son." There was some pain there, not from personal experience, but someone close. Bucky knew Howard had been an alpha, but would he have made his son's life difficult just for being an omega? He hoped not.

"What about you?"

"I don't really think my timetable allows for children, but Tony seems to have adopted the spider omega." From the few interactions Bucky had seen between the two omegas, Strange was right. "So I guess I have an omega son. He's smart and strong and I never had to change his diapers. The ideal child." And if Stark's roasts were accurate, he had also saved the alpha's life. Quite the perfect child. Bucky chuckled.

"Well, then, we're in a similar position so we're going to have to adopt the next junior Avenger."

"Good luck. You can have as many as you want from my point of view, but Tony's a hoarder." The alpha was smirking. Bucky laughed.

"Good morning, Strange," Steve greeted, coming in dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. He sat next to Bucky and kissed his neck.

"Good morning, Rogers. You're quite the morning person."

"Out for a jog. And you're not one to talk." Strange rolled his eyes.

"I blame Tony for my now sporadic sleeping schedule."

"The omega is usually the one adjusting to the alpha," Steve commented. Bucky supposed that it was humiliating to have to submit to an alpha who bent to his omega. It was still a rude comment.

"Steve," he warned.

"It's this sort of thinking that makes omegas leave," Strange retorted, cold and calculating.

"Only the damaged ones. Omegas need to be dominated."

"Steve!"

"That's the thinking of a weak alpha. If your omega is the only one who ever listens to you, you're barely an alpha." Okay, that was by far the worst thing to have come out of Strange's mouth in the few days they'd known each other.

Tony walked in, but stopped in the doorway. Bucky looked at him in desperation. The omega froze.

"Stephen?"

"You're not any better, hiding behind your magic. Take that away and what are you? You're just a crippled man who can't even use chopsticks," Steve growled.

Bucky noticed the way Strange looked at Stark before answering, the eased posture and the dismissive look, almost like he was saying 'I don't want you to see this.' Then he replied to Steve.

"And yet you submit to this cripple. I didn't even have to use magic to make you falter." This time he glanced at Bucky and the beta knew there was a comment about Steve being a tiny boy somewhere in there, but Strange mercifully kept it to himself. Steve didn't reply. Strange stood up and went to Stark, then spun around. "Mr Barnes, I am afraid I must retreat. I will see you around the compound." Then he grabbed Stark's wrist and pulled him away, into a portal to who knows where.

Steve was almost foaming at the mouth, but Bucky would have none of it.

"Steve, stop antagonizing the man, for God's sake!" Bucky snapped.

"What?"

"You heard me," the beta pressed. "He's nice. You can hold intelligent conversation with him. He outdid you. Get over it! Everyone else already did. The witch is fine with the way things are. The other alphas accept him. Just get over it!"

"What did he tell you? You're supposed to be on my side!"

"Fuck no! I'm not even an omega, I'm a beta, so listen here: you'd better go apologize to him, Steve, because that was out of line." Bucky now regretted having told Steve that he'd noticed Strange guarding his hands. Steve should have just not mentioned it. Strange had had the courtesy of not taking low blows.

The alpha seemed shocked, but Bucky hoped they were getting somewhere at least.

"I love you Stevie, but this..." He gestured to where the sorcerer had sat. "This is not who you are. This is not the man I love. Frankly, this is not even someone I'm willing to love." Steve went pale. "Promise me that you'll fix this." The alpha nodded. "Say it."

"I promise I'll fix this, Bucky."

* * *

 

Tony had never seen Stephen so angry. His magic sizzled in the air, creating a disconcerting pressure. He snapped and the training dummy exploded, air spinning around the sorcerer. The omega watched the raw display of power with wide eyes. Another growl and the whip in the sorcerer's hands caught fire.

"Stephen?" Tony tried, approaching him. The sight of his omega, confused and frankly a bit scared, calmed Stephen somewhat. Enough for the weapon to vanish. He grabbed Tony and pulled him into a bruising kiss. "Okay, that works," the omega panted when they parted. Stephen rested his forehead against Tony's, breathing heavily. "What happened?"

"Exactly what it looked like."

"Meaning you argued with Steve and Barnes?"

"Just Rogers. I was having a rather pleasant conversation with Barnes when he came in." Tony wrapped his arms around his mate. Stephen growled, still angry. "I'm going to make him kneel in front of everyone."

"Whoa, okay, let's think this through later," Tony offered, kissing his alpha. "How about you just ignore him?"

"The next time he snaps like that, I'm sticking him in the freefall dimension."

Tony felt the familiar unease of being shifted into the mirror dimension and knew what would follow. He figured he'd only angered his alpha more by defending Steve. Oh well. He didn't mind angry sex.

"Okay, we'll renegotiate that." 

* * *

 

Bucky figured that Steve was trying to hold on to his promise. However, after that scene, Strange looked at him like he was a bug unworthy of being squished. He cut him off when he talked, dismissed him from the room and overall reminded him of his place at every turn. Now, Steve was not an idiot so he noticed the change and the reason for it was obvious.

"You were right, Buck. I crossed a line. But I don't know how to take back everything I said."

The beta wanted to hit someone because of course when Steve came around, Strange got cold. Surprisingly enough, that someone was neither of the two.

"Just don't antagonize him further. He'll come around."

* * *

 

Strange most definitely did not come around. The man could hold a grudge. He eased with the crushing behaviour after a few weeks, but it had taken both Tony and Bucky talking to him and pointing out that the other alpha had been on his best behaviour. Thus Steve (re)gained the right to an opinion during meetings.

Then Carol stuck them together on a mission. Strange looked like he wanted to protest, but when it came between the two main alphas, Captain Marvel always won. Steve didn't even blame the man. She was scary.

The mission went well. Strange was cooperative and didn't let personal spats get in the way of his work. On the flight home, he summoned his book (or was it a new one?) out of thin air, as per his usual, and began reading, ignoring Steve completely.

At first, Steve had only played nice to the other alpha because of his promise to Bucky. However, after a while, he did some introspection and realised that (no surprise) the beta had been right. He'd been an ass to Strange and he deserved the cold shoulder. That didn't mean he wouldn't try to get their main alpha to at least talk to him. Strange wasn't around much and, in his absence, Steve still had his old position. It wasn't that bad. Of course, he should've noticed that sooner.

"Are you going to ignore me forever?" he asked, but the question sounded stupid out loud.

"I wasn't ignoring you during the mission, was I?"

"I do appreciate not letting me fall from the 17th floor. I really do. And I probably deserved to be left on my own devices midair. And the way you've been treating me since that morning. But when will you stop?"

"Is this an apology?" Well, at least he'd "pocketed" the book. Steve was making some progress. "Because I've seen better."

Ouch. Steve swallowed his growl. The sorcerer was testing him.

"No. The apology is: I'm sorry for what came out of my mouth that morning, because everything after "Good morning, Strange" was me being an idiot."

Well, that seemed to surprise the main alpha. Steve could settle for surprise.

"Oh. That was much better than I expected. But I have to ask: what changed?"

"Bucky told me that I was being an ass and I realised that he was right."

"Okay." Strange returned to the book.

Victory of the day: the cloak didn't look like it was hissing at him like it had for the past month.

"Come on, at least give me something to work with."

"I forgive you, but if you cross me again neither of our mates will be able to protect you," Strange stated.

"Thanks."

Time to look at the clouds.

* * *

 

Steve had no idea why an omega in heat would think that the Avengers' living room was a good place to hang out, considering how many alphas were around, but his nose wasn't lying. It certainly wasn't Tony. Scott, perhaps?

Being mated to Bucky meant that while the smell made him horny, it didn't fry his brain. He figured he was the unfortunate omega's best shot at a rational conversation.

"Scott?"

A whimper. Not quite Scott.

"Hey. Who's here?"

Peter poked his head up from behind the couch. The boy was crying. Okay, boner slaughtered.

"Peter? Go to Tony's lab."

"He's not there. And he didn't answer his phone," the boy sobbed.

"Okay, but you can't stay here, not with so many alphas around."

"I didn't know where else to go."

"Hold on. BUCKY!" The beta came running.

"Oh shit! Is this your first time?" The boy cried harder, but they got a no. "Where's Tony?"

"He won't answer his phone and he's not in his lab," Steve explained.

Bucky tossed Steve his phone.

"Call Strange. Worst case, he'll know where Tony is. Though he's probably with him," the beta advised.

To no one's surprise, Strange also didn't answer. So Steve called again. And again. Until the sorcerer picked up.

"What happened, Bucky?"

"Sorry to disappoint, but it's me. Where's Tony?"

"Why?" The way Strange's voice had hardened offended Steve, but he ignored it.

"Peter's got his heat. Figured some omega wisdom might help."

"Oh shit..."

"What?" Tony's muffled voice asked.

"Peter's got his heat," Strange explained.

"Shit! How do we get out of this?"

"Ow! Definitely not like that! Hold still!" Strange yelped. "Rogers? Can Bucky stay with him in Tony's lab for... I think, or rather hope less than an hour."

"An hour? What the hell? Where are you two?"

A pause. "At the sanctum." A longer one. "In my bedroom." The third one was awkward, but Steve caught on.

"You mean Tony...!"

"Yes. An hour."

Bucky and Peter were equally unthrilled by the cause of the delay, because of course the two omegas synched. Roughly half an hour later, a somehow still feverish Tony rushed into the lab from a familiar orange portal. Bucky was glad that he'd kicked Steve out.

"Pete, I'm so sorry!" the older omega began.

Bucky left.

Steve was doing something on his StarkPad when Bucky entered their room.

"Stark was somehow still in heat," the beta said.

"Huh? How?"

"I don't know. Feel free to ask Stephen."  
  
"I'm starting to take offence to being the only one who has to call him Dr Strange."

"You were an asshole in the beginning."

"So how much longer do I have to pray for forgiveness?"

* * *

 

Well, apparently being nice (or a decent human being) to the teenager earned Steve some brownie points or something, because Strange got, dare he think it, pleasant to him. And when the sorcerer offered to magically heal a gunshot wound after a mission, Steve just stared, mouth open like a fish.

"If you don't want it, just say so," the doctor said with a roll of his eyes.

"No, just... who are you and what did you do to Strange?"

"Die from blood loss," the doctor said nonchalantly. Highly unlikely for it to come true (Steve was a super soldier after all), but more like what he was used to receiving from the main alpha.

"Okay, okay, heal me, please."

Strange rolled his eyes and got started. The wound tingled, itchy warmth slowly overriding pain.

"Thanks," Steve said after the wound closed. Strange nodded.

"You're welcome, Steve."

That was definitely a clone in Strange's place.

* * *

 

Peter was among the most stubborn omegas Steve had ever met. And reckless to boot. Hear him out.

4 people (2 alphas, a beta and an omega) told him to drop that weird guy he'd been chasing and let others (namely them 4) take care of it. And where did they find the teenager?

Getting chocked by said weird guy. Way to go, Peter. At least you have 2 strong and overprotective parents.

Retrospectively, Steve had to wonder who was scarier, Tony or Strange. Because while the new Iron Man armour looked like the stuff of nightmares (or the nanites responded to Tony's mood), that portal definitely opened straight to Hell. (Bucky dragged them both to church later that week.)

Enemy defeated (and quite possibly dead), the two focused on their son (Steve was fairly sure Tony had adoption papers somewhere) who, unfortunately for him, was quite unharmed. Worry quickly passed and left room for rage.

"What were you thinking?"

"I tell you time and time again not to rush into battle..."

"You always do this!"

"Do you even hear us?"

"Stupid, that's what that was..."

"I thought you learned something..."

Poor Peter looked ready to cry. And while yes, Steve shared the adults' opinion, they were quite overwhelming. Bucky was by Steve's side, but the two of them seemed to have been forgotten.

"Should we...?" Steve was quite unsure whether he should step in. Let parents parent and all that.

"Guess so."

"Alright, guys, cut it out!" Steve called, mostly because they both knew his voice carried more weight. And they were right. Tony and Strange redirected their attention to him. The alpha had a warning look, an unspoken 'don't push it'. Steve figured he might as well be right this time. He'd gotten used to being on Strange's shit list anyway, although he wasn't the first on it anymore. "He's sorry enough as it is. Save the scolding for later. Let's just go back to the compound."

"Nobody got hurt," Bucky added. "So maybe you can let it slide?"

The two calmed down somewhat. Tony sighed and looked at the scared little omega. Strange sized Steve up, uncomfortable with accepting that the other alpha was right.

"Fine. Let's go," he finally said.

Soon enough, Strange became Stephen.

* * *

 

When Steve saw Stephen's hands, it had been an accident. Steve had found the alpha and omega in the training room, having an intimate moment. He'd come to ruin another punching bag, but it seemed that the other two had been sparring. Tony had been massaging his alpha's hands when Steve entered. They didn't notice him at first.

The alpha was surprised by the gentle smile on his old omega's face.

"Don't push yourself, doc."

"I'm fine," the alpha replied dismissively. His omega frowned. "Really."

Tony let go and Steve saw the scars. His eyes widened. The main alpha's hands were shaking quite badly at that point.

"Are you?"

"I've been through worse."

"Yeah. You also died so 'worse' is quite a wide range, don't you think?" The alpha narrowed his eyes. "Okay, fine. But we're done here."

"As you wish." When Stephen saw Steve, he immediately took an offensive stance, hiding his hands. Steve lowered his head submissively. He resisted the urge to take advantage of the other's weakness. Bucky had been trying really hard to teach him how to control himself and while it was difficult, he found himself regretting his actions less often. Steve was aware that this was one of the moments which would matter later.

Stephen sized him up, then relaxed marginally. Tony came to his side and the alpha wrapped an arm around his waist.

"Oh, hey cap."

"Hello. Any punching bags left?"

"You and Bucky are the only ones thrashing them," Stephen replied easily. "But I believe I saw a few while I was kicking Tony's ass."

"Love, my armour is now always on me, so don't complain about my lack of kung fu skills." Tony grinned. "You should see him fight. He knows some weird martial arts thing."

Stephen rolled his eyes.

"Physical fitness is important for those who pursue the mystic arts."

"Yeah, whatever. You just like showing off those magic muscles. Anyway, happy workout, cap."

Steve watched them go and noticed the way Stephen glanced back over his shoulder. Captain America felt relieved, in a way. Bucky would be proud at him for showing some restraint.

* * *

 

Bucky was happy with him. Very happy. So happy, in fact, that he kised Steve hard, in a way long forgotten. They'd grown distant and tense since that morning, Bucky wary of him and his impulses. Steve had tried so hard to be on his best behaviour, to earn back his mate's love.

"Does this mean I'm forgiven?" he asked as he pushed the other man up against the wall.

"I wasn't angry with you." The reply had come between kisses.

"Yes, you were." Steve took off his shirt. "Distant. Cold."

"Disappointed. That's what I was. Maybe jealous."

Steve paused.

"Jealous?"

"Can we talk about this after you fuck the lights out of me?" Bucky asked impatiently.

"With pleasure."

Who was he to deny his mate a good old romp?

After they finished and crashed down on the bed, Bucky talked.

"I was jealous on Tony."

Steve took a few moments to understand what his mate had said and what they'd been talking about.

"Why?"

"Cause you were mated to him."

"Buck..."

"I know, I know. But it was hard not to think that you were antagonizing his alpha because you were still hung up on him."

Steve paused and actually considered that.

"I... no, that wasn't... damn, I thought betas didn't care about these things."

"You marked me, Steve. I kinda started caring then."

"Oh. Then you should know... I'm not hung up on Tony or anything. He was... He stroked my alpha ego, I guess, which felt good, but... I feel like I reverted to a teenager while I was with him. The others just allowed it to happen."

"I saw."

When Steve moved his head to look at Bucky, he found the beta sizing him up warily.

"I feel better with you, Buck. I'm more than the label of alpha. I... I'm better than that and that's all you. You make me a better person. I love you."

"Love you too, Stevie."

* * *

"We are the ones adopting Peter," Steve stated.

"Excuse you? Peter is my son and you're not getting him even if I die!" Tony retorted.

"Please, he's already a scientist. You can't teach him much else."

"And you can, Captain Chastity?"

"Rook to b4," Stephen muttered boredly. The chess piece moved accordingly on the board.

"Queen takes rook," Bucky replied. He looked at the other two, who were in the middle of an argument, so caught up in it that Tony hadn't even made any Harry Potter references about the magical chess board.

"At least I won't teach him how to get an STD!"

"Should we...?" the beta asked, unsure. The omega and alpha were quite loud, but it wasn't menacing. Stephen didn't seem interested in protecting his omega, so Bucky saw fit to ask instead of stepping in.

"Nope. Pawn to d4. Check."

"You won't teach him anything!"

"He's got a strong sense of morality and you'll ruin even that!"

Bucky sized up the board and frowned.

"Can I quit?"

"Are you sure?" the alpha asked with a grin.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm at a clear disadvantage so let's wrap it up. Rematch?" Bucky sighed in frustration.

"Sure." Stephen waved his hand and the pieces went back to their places.

"Stephen, help me!" The alpha instantly looked at his omega, but he quickly deemed the danger not worth it. Steve wasn't exactly threatening to hurt him. Tony was just being ridiculous. "He's stealing my son!"

"Peter is an adult and for all I care, you can both raise him," the main alpha said sternly.

"Oh, come on! He's your son too!"

"Adoptive at best. All the Avengers parent him, so what got into you two all of a sudden?" Bucky almost chuckled at how exasperated Stephen looked.

"He wants to adopt Peter," Steve defended. Bucky actually laughed at the sulky look on his alpha's face. "Got the papers ready and all."

Stephen sighed.

"Tony, does May know?"

"No, but Peter's an adult and..."

"Exactly. You can't adopt adults. Name him your heir or whatever." Tony pouted. Stephen shook his head in fond exasperation and motioned his omega over. Tony approached them and sat on his lap.

"I'll find a way to adopt adults," he muttered.

"No way," Steve replied.

"How about we just settle for co-parenting?" Bucky suggested.

"No way. Capsicle will break him."

There was something in Tony's voice that made his words more serious than all the previous banter.

"I would never hurt Peter," Steve said solemnly.

Tony crossed his arms over his chest and looked down.

"Co-parenting sounds like the most rational idea at this moment," Stephen easily agreed. Steve shrugged.

"So I guess Peter Parker now has 4 dads." Tony weighed the idea in his mind. "Then I get to make the dad jokes."

"Sorry, but we all do," Steve retorted.

"Nope, I found him and called dibs before you even knew his face."

Stephen shoved Tony off his lap.

"You want whites now?" he asked Bucky.

"Yeah. Doubt it will help, but whatever."

Their partners argued on in the background.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all folks. I kinda feel like this one disobeyed me, but the plot bunny has been drifting away for a while and if I hadn't written it now, it would have never been done. Okay, rant over


	3. Omega life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this is the last chapter of this fic. It's probably really rushed, so I'm sorry for that. We're focusing on Peter now.

Aunt May couldn't understand him. Try as she might, she could never fully grasp the extent of what he was going through. Peter knew that she did her best, but, being a beta, she couldn't empathize with him the way another omega would.

He tried to hide his first heat. No, that's wrong. He had no idea what was happening. Being his first, the arousal hit him quite a while before the smell kicked in, but since he hadn't quite had things explained to him and he didn't even know he was an omega, he just went to school. It had quickly turned into the worst day of his life when Flash of all people found him and took him. Peter obviously panicked once the lust died down and long story short, they ended up in the hospital. Aunt May picked him up and tried to comfort him through the traumatizing experience, but her attempts, although appreciated, felt hollow and distant. Peter sank into a pit of hopelessness the following months, until he got his powers. Then the power rush hit him hard and he recovered spectacularly. He wanted to fight for the little guy. He wanted to help. He felt strong, capable of making a change.

When Mr Stark took him in and started actually getting closer to him, Peter found himself blurting out that he was an omega too and that his first heat had been a lot less than ideal. The older omega seemed to understand without any further words.

"Oh, kiddo, I'm so sorry." It was a simple sentence, and yet, Peter felt better. He felt understood, that he wasn't the only one going through that. So he finally voiced the darkest of his fears.

"I'm scared that it will happen again. That I won't be ready. That I won't know, again."

They spent the rest of the evening breaking down everything there was to be known about heats. Mr Stark was very accommodating, sharing as much as Peter needed to know, having Friday find more information online.

"You're still a kid. It's probably gonna take a year before your next heat."

"It will be a year next month."

"Well, then I'm glad we talked before that. Do you have an alpha or a beta you trust?" Peter opened his mouth to speak. "No, to want to have sex with." The boy shook his head. "Then you'll have to wait it out. Swing by the lab and we'll just work on stuff. Keeping you busy works and perhaps it's better that way."

Peter nodded. It sounded simple enough. 

* * *

 

Of course it wasn't that simple. Mr Stark was nowhere to be found. Peter went to the lab, but Friday told him that his mentor wasn't around. He panicked. Memories of 'last time' plagued his mind. He went out of the lab and into the living room, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Scott?"

Oh shit. Somebody was there. Most likely an alpha. What had he been thinking? Almost all the Avengers were alphas! This had been a bad idea. A really, really bad idea.

"Hey. Who's there?"

Was that Captain America? Great. Mr Stark's old alpha. And he smelled funny. Peter had no idea what to make of his new sense of smell. His powers enhanced all senses, but this was different.

Might as well reveal himself. God help him if the alpha tried anything.

To his luck, Mr Rogers looked exactly as uncomfortable as Peter felt. He called Mr Barnes over, who came to the little omega and talked to him, trying to calm him.

Eventually, they found Mr Stark. He was with Mr Dr Strange. _Busy_. Mr Barnes still took the teen to the lab and tried to chat him up for the time being. Peter slowly stopped sobbing so, by the time his mentor came, he wasn't crying anymore.

Mr Stark hurried in through the portal, hugged him tight and began apologizing. A little while later, they got working in the lab. Peter strangely noticed that the heat barely bothered him.

"Mr Stark?"

"Yeah?"

"Why do I feel better now?"

The engineer hummed in thought.

"You know, I've been wondering the same thing. I'll have to ask Stephen later. Surprisingly enough, he knows quite a lot about these things." Peter shifted awkwardly. "He's a doctor, kid. While this is a little outside his area, I'm pretty sure he knows."

"Mr Stark? If you were with him, why are you still...?"

"You can tell, huh? Yeah, we separated and I came here." The older omega shivered in want, the image and smell of his alpha panting on their bed as he left still fresh in his mind. It had taken an enormous effort of will (on both sides) to separate. Tony had dashed out, clothes in a pile in his arms, and bumped into Wong, who'd made the portal.

"Oh..." Peter felt guilty. He recalled how painful his separation had been.

"Don't blame yourself, kid. It was our choice."

Peter nodded, unconvinced, and returned to the new web he'd been trying to make.

His heat took a week. Mr Stark was fine after 3 days.

* * *

"Tell the kid what you told me," Mr Stark said the next time Peter saw him. The couple was cuddling on the couch, omega peacefully resting on his alpha as both worked, one at his StarkPad and the other reading his book.

"Back in the day, not all omegas mated during their heats. Those who didn't, gathered together in a place and waited it out. Only the two main alphas were allowed to approach in order to offer protection. Thus Steve and I are not so overly sensitive to omega heat, except from our mates," the doctor explained. Peter tried not to notice the way he'd pulled Mr Stark closer. "Staying with other omegas in heat instinctively relaxes you. Would you like to come to Kamar Taj on your next heat? There are only betas and omegas there. Alphas usually get sent to sanctums so they won't bother the others."

"Come to Kamar Taj?" That had definitely caught Peter's attention. Travel to the magic headquarters? Sign him up!

"Yes. I won't be able to stay, but I'll leave you to the other masters. They are trustworthy. If you wish to pursue this offer, just tell me or Wong."

"I want to come! I mean... thank you, Dr Strange, I would love to come."

The sorcerer nodded.

"Then it's settled."

* * *

 

"God, Stephen!" Tony panted as he was shoved into bed.

"I didn't get to have you all the way last time," the alpha growled, pouncing on him. Their clothes vanished. He bit the mark, relishing in the whine that left Tony's throat.

"So you wanna make up for it?" the omega teased, writhing.

Stephen slid in with a groan. No condom. They'd both got tested.

"Obviously."

It barely took any time at all. They were still wound up from the last heat, the feelings of unfilfillment lingering and being increased now. Sure, they had sex between heats, but it wasn't the same. Stephen was rougher than usual, panting "Mine, mine" with every thrust. His omega responded in kind, clinging to him.

Tony arched his back when he spilled himself between them, pulling on his alpha's hair as he did so. It never failed to push him over the edge. Stephen came with a loud groan, teeth sinking into his mark. It was like being marked all over again, the intimate bond rekindling.

Stephen's phone rang from somewhere on the floor. Still panting lightly, the alpha conjured it in his hand and answered.

"Yes?"

"Umm... I'm pretty sure I'm interrupting something, but it happened... and I'm at school and I'm really, really scared. Could you perhaps open a portal or something and I'll just go through, no peeping or anything, I swear!"

"Peter? You already get heats on an adult schedule?" Tony asked, pushing himself up.

"Now I know I'm interrupting. I'm so sorry, Mr Stark! Really sorry!"

"Hang on, I'll get Wong on your case," Stephen replied patiently.

"You really don't have to. I don't want to bother anyone..."

Stephen opened a small portal and stuck his hand with the phone through. Wong was at his desk, reading some books. He looked as unimpressed as always at the bare arm holding a phone, but picked it up.

"Thanks, Wong. Owe you one," Stephen said before closing the portal. Tony seemed uneasy. "He'll be fine. Wong's a beta."

"Hope so..."

* * *

 

Wong was fine, Peter thought with a mental shrug. After explaining the situation to him, he snapped a picture of the bathroom and soon enough, the beta opened a portal and came in, then took Peter to Kamar Taj with another portal.

Once there, he was given some weird robes to put on (in order to mingle), then sent to a smaller building. Peter couldn't complain. The view was great and there were still people around, who introduced themselves as omegas. All of them in heat. Some were his age, some older, most women, some men. Many were sorcerers, some just villagers looking for a safe place to spend their heat. Those wore robes similar to Peter's. He spent the first day introducing himself and just crashed in a bed in the evening.

The next day, he got to know some people better. In the evening, they all gathered in the small courtyard around a fire. He realized that he felt normal and pointed that out.

"Ah, yes. Being around others helps a lot," a nice woman explained to him. She was married, had 3 children, but spent her heats at Kamar Taj in order to avoid a 4th. "Sometimes I don't notice when my heat is over. Though a week is standard for me."

"I feel safe," Peter admitted. "Which is just weird because I met all of you yesterday."

"We're all omegas like you. It's normal. There are no alphas around here."

"An alpha told me about this place," Peter admitted.

"Which one? There are very few alphas at Kamar Taj. The Ancient One rarely accepted them. She said they were too powerhungry."

"Doctor Strange."

"Ah, he's the main alpha. Of course he knows."

"He's main alpha for the Avengers, too."

"It's easier to take over a group when you've already got such a big one backing you up."

Peter shrugged. They were probably right. Although when Strange became main alpha, he'd been alone, without his group.

* * *

 

The 3rd day, Dr Strange and Mr Stark came to see him. The other omegas stood up when the two approached, but relaxed and returned to their old positions when they saw the mated couple. Peter beamed and accepted the hug from his mentor.

"How's it going, kid?"

"It's great, Mr Stark! Everyone's so nice and the view is amazing and the food is great and the people are awesome and I did my homework with like 3 other people helping me and it's great! It's so perfect and now I can't wait for my next heat!"

"That's good news!"

"I know! This place is amazing, Mr Stark! You should stay!"

"Nope, sorry, kid. That one would take offence," Mr Stark pointed to his alpha, who was talking to one of the women. "I just dropped by to see how you're doing. Send May a picture with your new friends."

"I will."

"Alright. Gotta go before I get kicked out. See you."

"Goodbye, Mr Stark."

* * *

 

When Peter woke up roughly one week after he'd come to Kamar Taj, he knew his heat was finished. He didn't know how, he just did. So he made his bed, got dressed in his normal clothes, bid goodbye to everyone and went to the main building, where a master led him to the portal to New York. Simple enough.

* * *

 

Peter was 18 the first time he considered riding out his heat with an alpha. Tony had said that it would end faster and while one week at Kamar Taj was always cool, he didn't have time for that every month, either as Spiderman or Peter Parker.

The obvious question was who? He instantly dismissed Ned, and not only because he was a beta. Just no. He easily crossed a few more people off his list, until he arrived at MJ. That's where he was stuck. Alpha. Girl. Friend, but not too close. Nothing to ruin by adding sex to the mix. So fine, MJ.

The next and more pressing issue was how to approach her. First of all, before the heat. Certainly. So after one of their outings, he offered to walk her home. She noticed that he was acting suspicious, but didn't mention it until they were alone.

"So what's up?"

"I..." Come on, Pete, you might be an omega, but you're Spiderman, too. You can do this. "You know I'm an omega... And you're an alpha..."

She was visibly surprised by the idea, but easily caught on.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah... I mean, if you don't want to, it's fine."

"No, I... I want to. Just the heats?" Peter nodded. "Okay, cool. Umm... text me?"

"Sure. Just so you know, it's in two weeks. Maybe even more."

"Ok."

* * *

 "Wong's busy for a month. Text me if you need anything," Stephen casually told Peter some days later.

"Ah, yeah... about that... I found an alpha. So thank..."

"What?" Tony jumped up from his mate's lap like he'd been electrocuted. "When? Who?"

"Tony, relax," Stephen settled his omega down.

"MJ," Peter replied. Tony visibly relaxed.

"Okay."

"Anything I should know beforehand?" Peter dared ask.

"Use omega condoms. If they're expensive, mooch off Tony. Alpha condoms will never fit you well," Stephen replied. Peter was as red as his suit, but he nodded.

"Don't freak out when you get stuck."

"Do I hear sex advice?" Steve asked, poking his head in. Peter's red face answered. "Our boy is growing up! Who is it?"

"A girl. Alpha," Stephen replied.

"Oh, that's nice. Be careful, Peter. Women can be worse than men."

The boy was too embarrassed to speak.

"You should let her keep the condoms," Tony added. "You'll be too feverish to remember."

That was a fair point.

"Don't worry," Steve soothed. "It all comes instinctively."

"Thanks, guys."

* * *

 

Peter got his heat at the Avengers Tower, which was too good to be true. School would have been a nightmare and he didn't want to face May like that. So he texted MJ. She complained a bit about how she would enter, but he tried to tell her that it wouldn't be a problem. And it wasn't. Friday easily let her in.

_'Condoms are on the nightstand. Just in case I forget.'_

_'If you get me pregnant, you're dead.'_

Well, at least he could rest assured that nothing would change between them.

* * *

 

Three hours later, Peter was making pancakes in the kitchen. Steve entered, stopping to sniff the air.

"You ok, kid?" he asked. Peter nodded, though he was aware he didn't look too convincing.

"I'm making something to eat. I'm starving and I think MJ will be, too."

Yep, kid was whipped.

"Let me take care of that and come back in 15 minutes. That's soy milk, by the way." Peter made a face and figured that the fact that he hadn't seen the huge "SOY" written on the carton was a good argument for Steve's idea.

"Okay. Thanks, Captain Dad."

The pancakes ran cold by the time the teens got around to eating them. Steve had left a note on them. 'For Peter.' Everyone loved Peter. Who would steal his pancakes?

MJ left in the morning.

* * *

 

All in all, it wasn't a bad arrangement. MJ didn't seem to care either way until Peter got his heat, when she would lay claim on him, sometimes even before Peter realized he was in heat. One particular instance was worth mentioning.

His heat had come at school, which was terrifying. So he texted MJ, hoping they could just get the hell home. She stormed into the boy's bathroom (thankfully he was the only one around) and dragged him out by the arm. They bumped into Flash in the hall. He tried to hold back the omega, but MJ practically hissed at him. Okay, okay. She may have been a girl, but alpha behaviours didn't care.

"He's mine," she'd snarled. Flash wisely backed down. Peter was too shocked to react as she dragged him on.

* * *

 

"Do female and male alphas bump hierarchies?" Peter asked his "Double S fathers" next.

"You ever seen Carol order Stephen around?" Tony asked in turn. His alpha glared at him.

"Oh." Truth be told, as far as Carol was concerned, they all might as well be omegas. "But aside from main alphas in leadership positions."

"Rarely," Stephen replied, "Though it does happen. Why?"

"MJ scared a boy."

"I like her," Tony declared, chuckling.

"She is quite impressive," Stephen agreed. "Why did she scare him?"

"Umm... He... umm... wanted me."

"Ah, then yes, happens all the time," Stephen pointed out easily. "I can't take this one out in public without a few women making a pass at him."

Bucky walked by with a mug in his hand.

"Men would, too, but the hierarchy is instinctive to one's gender. The two tend to ignore each other until there's something to fight for. Then, it becomes a matter of dominance and establishing a common hierarchy. Your alpha may just be highly dominant. It won't matter who, she will get the upper hand. Men or women," the beta explained. "My advice is to stick to her, at least as a friend. It'll make your life easier."

Tony was pouting.

"Damn betas analysing us like lab rats."

Stephen just chuckled fondly. Bucky shrugged.

"It's not like your worth as an omega is dictated by which alpha you stick to, but it helps if they're looking after you a bit." Subtle, but the boy could read between the lines. "It shouldn't be like this, but it is. An alpha is more likely to listen to another alpha than an omega."

Peter nodded. He knew that much, but Bucky was apparently more willing to tell him the harsh truths about being an omega. The alphas didn't really know and Tony didn't want to admit them to himself.

"Thanks, dads."

* * *

 

His relationship with MJ eventually became widely known. As a result, other alphas backed off, especially when they were together. It was weird, but pleasant.

* * *

 

It was at the end of high school that MJ and Peter had to part ways. Peter would have liked to continue the relationship, but he had to admit that distance was an important detail to factor in. So when they each went to university in a different city, they bid their goodbyes as friends.

The Avengers wished him luck and promised to call him if the world ended. His 4 pseudo-parents insisted that he kept in touch lest Stephen portalled in his room.

May hugged him tight and made him swear to call at least weekly.

Barely a few months later, the young omega was dating someone. Actual romantic dating, not just riding heats. Hell broke loose.

* * *

"So... I, uh, started seeing someone," Peter began awkwardly.

"Pics or it didn't happen," Tony replied. The other 3 glared at him.

"Hold on, I'll send you a picture." After a few moments of clicking, Peter sighed. "Did you get it?"

"Yes," Stephen replied. The 4 adults were staring at their screen in silence. Peter waited for the conclusion.

"Alpha," Bucky soon announced.

"How did you...? Yes, he's an alpha," Peter relented, "but he's really nice."

"We never said male alphas aren't nice," Steve retorted.

"Well, I did," Tony growled. "You're not ready for this, kid!"

"Whoa, Tony!" Steve called.

"He's not ready for this," the engineer repeated, more evenly.

"Tony, calm down," Stephen urged. "Tell us about him, Peter."

"Oh, right. Well, umm... his name is Wade Wilson and we met in the library. He's a bit older, like 2 years older. His major is Electrical Engineering. He's from Canada, and, well, he's got a sister, Vanessa. She's pretty nice. And, umm... what do you want to know?"

"Does he treat you well?" Steve and Bucky asked at the same time.

"Yeah, I guess? I mean... we've only been on a date, you know? We're not getting married or anything."

"Tell us about the date," Bucky urged.

"Coffee date, then we went to this rock concert in town. He's crazy about that music and I kinda see why. I've been listening to some since then. He recommended some pretty good songs and it really gets me going in the morning. Guys?"

"Our baby is growing up, Bucky!" Steve sang with tears in his eyes. "He's going on dates and hooking up!" Tony was silently fuming.

"Pretty sure that is not what 'hooking up' means, Captain," Stephen pointed out. "Alright, Peter. Take care. If anything at all goes wrong, call us."

"Wade wouldn't hurt me."

"Not just Wade. In general. Stay safe."

"I can look after myself. I'm Spiderman. But thanks, doctor dad."

Stephen stood up and dragged Tony away. Bucky returned to the monitor.

"Okay, Steve left with them. Tell me what you're hiding about this Wade. 10 seconds. Go."

"I'm not hiding anything!" Peter blurted out.

"You're lying."

"Fine. Don't tell the dynamic father duo."

"Obviously."

"He knows I'm Spiderman. He's a mutant with insane regeneration powers. Like he grew an arm back." Bucky's eyes widened. "Calls himself Deadpool. He's a mercenary. That's how he pays for college."

"That's... bigger than I expected." Bucky glanced towards where the other 3 had gone. They were still caught up in their conversation. "Are you willing to put up with something like that, Peter? It's a lot."

"Yeah, I know. But I figured... fine. I like him, winter dad. I really do. So I want to at least try."

"You do you and we'll be there to help," Bucky said with a sigh. "Alright, Steve's calling. Bye."

"Bye!"

Bucky joined the other 3, who had various attitudes about the news. Tony was most definitely not happy.

"He's dating a male alpha, guys! That's like heartbreak 101 for omegas!"

If Stephen was offended, he didn't let it show.

"He'll be fine. You can't guard him forever," the sorcerer pointed out.

"But this is a mistake! He should have just stayed with MJ or I don't know! But not a male alpha. He's just gonna hurt my baby."

Now Stephen was definitely offended, but Steve spoke first.

"Okay, Tony. First of all, ouch, but fine, I deserve it. Secondly, isn't it a bit hypocritical to berate Peter for something you do yourself?" Bucky loved his mate.

"Stephen's different. Like one in a million different. Do you seriously think Peter found another one in a million?"

"Maybe he did!"

"I bet you 10 bucks he didn't!"

Stephen sighed and gave Bucky a resigned look. He usually let Tony and Steve run their course. However, this time, he must have seen something on the beta, because he immediately refocused.

"Just because you..."

"Alright, **stop**!" the main alpha ordered. Both men did. "Good. Wouldn't want either of you to overdo it. Peter is dating Wade. He wasn't asking for approval, he was telling us. If things go south, he needs support. If not, he needs acceptance. Now go to your rooms."

"But I was..." Steve began. Tony sighed and headed to his room.

"Did I stutter?"

"No, but..." At Stephen's glare, Steve spun around and left. Bucky moved to follow. "Nope. You're staying, Bucky." The beta sat down on the couch with a resigned sigh. No use delaying this conversation. After the two doors slammed closed, Stephen resumed talking "What did he tell you?"

"What makes you think I know something you don't?" Stephen glared. "Don't take your anger out on me, alpha."

The sorcerer growled, but joined him on the couch.

"Fine. What did he tell you? It's obvious you know something I don't."

"He doesn't want them to know."

"Overprotective parents team? They won't hear it from me."

Bucky nodded and told Stephen what he knew.

"I'm kinda worried," the beta admitted. "If he drags Peter into it... and Peter's a hero. A mercenary is pretty much neutral. He could end up fighting in either camp."

Stephen sighed.

"I see what you mean, but that doesn't change what I said. He wasn't asking for permission. He was asking for acceptance."

"And he received that." Bucky stood up. "I'll make sure Steve's fine."

"Tony most certainly isn't," Stephen admitted, getting up. Bucky briefly scanned him.

"He doesn't mean to offend you."

"I know that." They parted ways. "Thank you."

* * *

 

Tony was sulking in bed, plucking at his latest project on his StarkPad. Stephen sat down next to him.

"I still don't like this. I should've banned him from dating alphas," the engineer grumbled.

Stephen kissed him hard and shoved him down in bed. Tony groaned and had to make an earnest effort to open his eyes when his lover pulled back. Oh. His alpha did not seem happy despite the bruising kiss.

"I'm sorry if you took offence to that."

"It was kinda hard not to." Stephen's voice was a low snarl. His more instinctive side was showing, but Tony wasn't afraid of him.

"You're the only decent male alpha I found and believe me, I've been looking. Let's just say that I am a little bit unwilling to let Peter play that particular roulette game." Stephen huffed and got off him, shaking his head. "I just wanna protect my kid from things May can't."

"You can't protect him either."

"I can damn well try."

"He's better with a half decent alpha than on his own."

"Now you're saying omegas can't take care of themselves?" Tony snapped.

"Don't put words in my mouth. What's wrong with you, anyway? Are you nesting or what?"

"Oh, fuck off! We both know men can't get pregnant."

"Not due to lack of volition. No, really, what's wrong?" Stephen moved to look at Tony. The omega frowned, but met his eyes with an accusing gaze.

"You're hiding shit from me about Peter. You and Bucky hide stuff from me and Capsicle all the time. Don't think we haven't noticed. It's usually dumb shit which would worry me and I find out later anyway, like that Halloween party a while ago, so I let it slide because if you know and I don't, at least one of us knows, but this is different." He pulled himself up. "This is different, you dumbasses! He's already been raped once, which is always gonna be one too many times! You think that guy is gonna hold back when Peter's in heat? Is that what you think? Omegas deal with this shit their whole lives and the rest of you act like that's okay! Well, it's not! It's not okay for a anyone to go through that, much less at 14! So fuck off with all your 'It's gonna be fine's because that's not how it works for an omega! That's never how it works!"

Stephen looked at his mate and tried to let his words sink in. He sighed and pulled him close. Tony shifted, disgruntled. He had a point, Stephen knew. As an omega, he obviously knew better than the rest of them what the risks were for Peter. Sure, they all worried, but Tony had some first-hand experience with abusive alphas.

"Peter trusts him. We need to trust his choice."

Tony stood silent, but let his alpha's presence soothe him.

* * *

 

"Hey guys! So, umm, Wade is here and you said you wanted to see him so surprise!" Peter laughed nervously.

The 4 adults froze briefly. Stephen glanced at Tony, wary. Bucky was the first to compose himself and nod.

"Okay... So... show yourself, Wade."

Peter looked to his left and motioned for the man to come over, then sighed.

"One moment." He stood up and walked off screen.

"I did not agree to this! Damn spider strength! You totally sprung this on me! What about consent, Peter? What about my human rights to my body autonomy? This is a violation of my..." Peter sat down and pulled on an arm. Wade fell into the chair next to him and fixed his hair. "Good day, Dadvengers."

Steve was the first to chuckle because really? The guy who was afraid of meeting them had Tony so worried? Stephen nodded in acknowledgement.

"So yeah, here's Wade. He's great, got me the rose in the background. We're being good, just chilling..." Peter paused and looked around to find something new to show his parents.

"Do I get interviewed now or does that wait until you can maul me live?" Wade asked, shrugging. "Good luck with that, by the way."

Stephen and Bucky tensed. Tony and Steve stared at the screen in confusion. Wade soon caught on and looked at Peter.

"You said you told them."

Peter wanted to die.

"I said they kinda know, which means you don't talk about that!"

"Know what?" Steve asked. Stephen closed his eyes and waited for his omega to lose his shit.

"We obviously have a miscommunication going on, so enlighten us. What don't I know? Cause these two," Tony gestured towards Stephen and Bucky, "certainly know. They just leave me and Cap in the dark."

"I'm Deadpool." Silence. "This fanfic sucks! I'm not popular?"

"Not with the good guys," Bucky replied.

"You're a villain?" Tony asked, then looked at Stephen. "That's just superb."

"I prefer the term 'neutrally aligned'," Wade pointed out.

"Don't listen to him. He asks for money, but he never worked for the bad guys," Peter pointed out. "Though he sometimes steals from them."

"Ah, yes, sure, all honest work."

"I'm done here," Tony announced, sitting up.

"Iron dad, wait!" Peter called.

"Tony! I'll go talk to him," Stephen explained, then left as well.

Peter looked ready to cry. That was not how he'd pictured that meeting going. Sure, Wade had a big mouth, but Peter thought he'd annoy his fathers at most.

Bucky didn't miss the way the young alpha's arm moved to hold Peter's hand under the table, or the way Peter moved his away. The beta still had a confused alpha to deal with. Who had a much more level head than they gave him credit for.

"So you're a mercenary," Steve repeated.

"Yep."

"Who do you work for? What do you usually do?"

"I work for whoever pays. Most of my missions are threatening stalkers to leave pretty girls alone. I had a few extraction missions. Blew stuff up. Wanted to go for an assassination once, but the target turned out to be a pretty cool guy so..." He shrugged.

"Peter, why didn't you tell us?" Steve looked pointedly at Bucky. Argument later. "Me and Tony."

"Okay, that sounds like you're done with me, so..."

" **Sit down** ," Steve growled. Wade sat back down on his chair with a confused and unalpha yelp. He wasn't used to being so directly dominated. Bucky figured that Peter had chosen a pretty strong alpha.

"Because you'd make a scene and what Wade does isn't who he is."

"Aww, Petey~!"

"Then who is he?"

"He's my alpha." Bucky noticed that even Wade seemed surprised by the declaration. "And I want you all to get along. We're dropping by next week, by the way. Got some free days. If we can't stay at the compound, it's fine. May wants to meet Wade, too."

"We'll talk to Tony," Steve promised.

"Good luck on that," Wade muttered.

"Thanks, guys. Bye." Peter turned off the camera and closed his laptop.

"Why are you angry with me? You should've told me to keep it a secret," Wade pointed out.

"Because you had to paint yourself in a bad light. You always do that!" Peter snapped.

"Because I have a very high kill count! You can call it however you want. You're a hero. You save the innocents. I just kill the villains and even that on a good day."

"That's also saving people."

"No, it's not. It's enjoying a bloodbath."

"Whatever. Just go. My heat's coming."

"See? That's just rude, Mr Superhero. You call me your alpha, then you tell me to leave." Peter flipped him off. "Yeah, don't do that around your daddies, they'll know you picked it up from me. Do you want me to call that old Chinese guy for you?"

"I can do it myself." Peter went to get his phone from Wade's hand, but the alpha kept it away.

"Tell me why you're angry and I'll fuck off."

"I'm not angry with you. I just wanna be alone. Give it!" He tried to use his strength, but the merc pinned him against the wall. Wade was stronger than Peter gave him credit for, and quite a bit more combat savy.

"Is it cause daddy1 left?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I think you do. So tell me, Pete. Lean on daddypool and let him make you feel better."

"That's disgusting," the omega retorted. Wade didn't budge. "Fine. I'm disappointed that he reacted this way and it's totally your fault for making yourself look bad." Wade let him go and the omega turned around. "Now go before my heat starts."

"Alright, alright." 

* * *

"Why didn't you tell me?" Steve asked later that night. Bucky sized him up for a second. He was disappointed and betrayed.

"Can I begin by saying I love you?"

"Yes, but it has nothing to do with my question." The alpha frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. "Stephen knew. Tony didn't." The beta sighed. He'd fucked up.

"I may or may not have mistakenly assumed that you were like Tony."

"Dramatic?" Anger was slipping into his body language. "You're supposed to know me!" he snapped. "You're my mate, dammit! Do you still see me as a stereotypical mindless alpha?"

"It's not about that," Bucky placated. "It's about you and Tony being overprotective, though it's not really that, either. I thought you might slip and tell him." It was a fair point, considering their arguments, but Steve didn't seem to believe him. Bucky didn't even really believe himself.

"What else don't I know?"

"Peter went to a frat party a month ago and got his first taste of alcohol."

"I knew that."

"He told us the week before, not after the party. Peter thought you two would worry needlessly." At that, the alpha rolled his eyes.

"Are you seriously painting me with the same brush as Tony?" Bucky lowered his head. "The hell? Why? And how did you and Stephen get privileges?"

"Because we don't blow things out of proportion. Look, I don't particularly like this setup either, but it's about Peter's trust. The first time he told us something like that, we sat down and talked about it and concluded that if we broke his trust by telling either of you, he'd just keep things for himself. Is that what you want?"

Steve growled, looking away, but Bucky sensed his opportunity. He approached his mate and kissed him, parting his arms with his hands to wrap them around him.

"How about I tell you the truth from now on and you pretend to be clueless, punk?"

"Sounds fun."

Steve was still not happy, but he was appeased. 

* * *

 

Tony opened the door to his lab to find Wade inside, in his suit, twirling his mask around.

"How on earth did you get in?"

"I broke in. Good luck thinking around that plothole."

"Okay, whatever. Friday? Lock him in."

"Whoa, wait up, old man!" Wade called, hurrying to the door. Tony glared at him. "Do you have any idea how expensive that plane ticket would have been had I paid for it? Listen up because this time, I wasn't the one who made Peter cry." Tony's eyes narrowed. "That's right, papa bear."

"What do you want?"

"I came here to make peace. It may not look like it, but that's the ugly, dirty truth."

"Fine. Proceed." Tony crossed his arms over his chest.

"Umm... ok, I didn't think I'd get this far." Wade took a deep breath. "So... look, I like Peter, quite a lot. You're his daddy, somehow. So perhaps we can share him? I mean, you love him and all, and I'm gonna stick around for a while, so I'd rather we got along, or at least tolerated each other, because I honestly don't give a rat's ass if you like me and you can probably sleep at night knowing I don't like you, but that would hurt Peter. So let's at least play it nice around him, like two divorced parents should."

"Please tell me that's not who it sounds like," Stephen grumbled, coming down the corridor.

"Oh, doctor Kinky Blanket of Death. Nice to see you. Can I get a portal back home in a few minutes?"

"We'll see." The two alphas briefly sized each other up, but didn't try to decide their hierarchy. Wade was in no position to be displaying dominance. "Tony, what's he doing here?"

"Trying to make peace," the omega explained.

"Is it working?" the sorcerer asked.

"B minus."

"That's still a passing grade," Wade pointed out.

"It is. Now get out of my hair."

"I'll take care of that," Stephen offered, then, before either of the other two could reply, he waved a portal towards Wade, sending him to the men's toilet at their university. "You hate the guy."

"Hate is a strong word. He's a bad type of mouthy."

"I noticed."

"But Peter's rants can tire me out too, so I guess it's a match made in heaven."

* * *

 

"Alright, there we go..." Peter muttered as he walked into the compound, Wade close behind.

"Are you sure you wanna do this, spiderling?"

"No, but they're my family and I want you all to get along," Peter said with a sad pout.

"I'm sure we'll all like each other and have one big loving orgy."

"Don't talk like that around them."

"Fine." Wade rolled his eyes. "Spoil my fun."

"Peter!" aunt May called, coming to hug him. "It's so good to see you." She then turned towards the alpha. "You must be Wade."

"I am." Wade noticed the way Peter was looking at him and smiled, holding back any comments. "Nice to meet you."

Steve and Bucky were next. The two alphas sized each other up and Peter gave Bucky a worried look. Would they fight? Wade wrapped an arm around his omega's waist and pulled him close. Steve seemed content to let him claim Peter, so the younger alpha bowed his head in submission.

They got settled in, then went to meet Tony in his lab. To Peter's relief, Tony and Wade played good. They shook hands, acting like they'd never met in person before. Peter didn't need to know everything, Wade figured.

Stephen was introduced the next day, after Wade had met pretty much all the Avengers. Again, they played it cool. The younger alpha immediately accepted his place. It wasn't like he could dominate Stephen when Steve was above him.

Christmas dinner with the Avengers was fun. The team was rowdy and they were all joking together. Wade easily fit in. Peter thought he could finally relax when...

"I know that makes me look like a wuss, but we haven't."

How could he let Wade talk to anyone unsupervised?

"What are you telling them?"

"Nothing untrue," the alpha assured him with a smile. "Stop worrying, spiderling."

Falcon was laughing.

"Yeah, relax. It's more embarrassing to him than you. Though when are you gonna let him hit it?"

"I..."

"Now, I think that's between Peter and me," Wade replied, wrapping an arm around his omega.

Tony glanced at them, noticing how Peter relaxed in the embrace.

"Really?" Sam pressed, more as a show of dominance than interest in the topic.

Wade's smile faltered, shifting into something more serious.

"Yes. Really."

There were a few moments of silence as the alphas stared each other down. Wade didn't seem willing to back down this time.

"Sam, drop it," Steve finally said.

"Yeah, drop it, birdman. DP ain't someone to mess with," Wade warned.

"DP? This guy's Deadpool?" Sam looked around. His eyes landed on the 4 pseudo fathers. "You guys knew about this?"

"Oh, so now I'm popular?" Wade asked. "Author, make up your mind!"

"In my circles, yes! What the hell? You're dating a mercenary?" he asked Peter.

"Yeah."

"Alright then, more wine!" Tony called. He glanced at his own glass. "And a lot more whiskey." 

* * *

 

Peter told Tony that he would take Wade with him on patrol. The older omega didn't care either way at first, then he figured that the two might learn from each other so all was good. Wade could take care of himself and was not a burden, so the extra hands might be useful. Yep, all fine. Until Karen sent a distress signal.

When he arrived, Peter was frantic, panicking and overall freaking out. Wade was trying to calm him down and doing a pretty bad job, though Tony couldn't fault him. The mercenary was in pieces. Literary pieces. Peter was sobbing and couldn't move, but Wade actually smiled when he saw Tony.

"Hey, Tinman, would you be so nice as to bring me my bits? They should be around here."

Tony located his torso, arms and legs and puzzled them together piece by piece, all the while trying to calm Peter. Eventually, the boy helped.

It took some time for Wade to start moving again. By then, Peter was somewhat more collected and had told Tony what had happened. Some crazy man had blown himself up and Wade had shielded him from the explosion. Unfortunately, he'd been too close to the center.

The alpha grabbed his omega's shoulders and made him meet his eyes.

"Listen to me, spiderling. This wasn't your fault."

"No, but if I wasn't around you would've just killed that guy in the beginning like you wanted to and this wouldn't have happened," Peter sniffled.

"You're not supposed to agree with me, dammit! Next thing I know you'll be making inappropriate jokes to your daddies. Come on, Pete. I'm fine."

"Actually..." Tony began hesitantly. Wade gave him a dirty look, but whatever. "I think we should make sure of that.

* * *

 

"Your regeneration abilities are off the charts," Tony told the merc.

"I know. Blew myself up once. Still didn't die."

Wade was 20 years too young to fool Tony. He tried to appear casual, but he was tense.

"Why would you even do that?"

"Sorry, old man, only friends of at least level 7 unlock my tragic backstory."

"I'm your father in law. I get privileges."

"Nope." Tony kept silently staring at him. "Don't try to one up me. You're not doctor sharp cheekbones. Where are you taking me, anyway?"

"As I said, to a medical check up. You can't have healed completely from all that."

Wade rolled his eyes.

* * *

 

"He has healed completely from all that," Stephen explained, staring at the medical results in disbelief. Wade shrugged with a cheerful grin.

"Told you."

"Right. That reminds me. Stephen, make him tell me why he blew himself up," Tony asked of his alpha. Wade paled. He couldn't refuse the main alpha if he made a direct demand and they all knew that his omega could usually sway him. Stephen looked between them.

"No."

"I love you, magic daddy!"

"Why not?" Tony wasn't pouting. No, really, he wasn't.

"You of all people should know why," Stephen stated. There was disappointment in his voice. Tony's eyes widened. Of course. How could he be so ignorant? Wade obviously had some serious trauma to deal with and Tony had first-hand experience with that. He hated it when people pushed him around and making his alpha bully the younger man into reliving what was obviously a seriously unpleasant experience was doing just that. He'd been too wrapped up in trying to know as much as possible about Peter's new alpha to consider the man an individual.

"Shit! I'm sorry, Wade. I'll take you back to Peter's."

"He's gonna rape me!" the ridiculous alpha complained to Stephen with the most exaggerated distressed look the main alpha had ever seen.

"What the fuck?" Tony squeaked. "What's wrong with you?"

"He didn't deny it!" Wade ducked behind Stephen.

"I'm not gonna rape you, but I might kill you!" Tony snapped. Stephen just sighed and peeled the younger alpha off, then sent him to Peter's room through a portal. The alpha then stared at his omega in disappointed silence.

"What?" Tony asked. "I know I acted like an ignorant bastard."

"I think we need to let Peter deal with Wade from now on."

Tony agreed, although he figured he maybe probably sort of had to somehow make it up to the young alpha. Great...

* * *

 

"I wanna spend my heat with you," Peter told Wade softly one day.

Okay, he could've picked a better moment, like their date the previous night or when they were messing around, but, if he was being honest, Peter loved the quiet cuddling moments the most. Like now, when they were leaning against each other on the couch, each with their own book, reading for their next tests.

Wade turned his head towards his omega so quickly it snapped.

"What did you just say to me?"

"Heat. Together." That seemed to get across.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"When?"

"A week or so."

The alpha grinned.

"Can't wait."

And there was that.

* * *

 

'Heat. Come to my room please?'

Wade grinned and practically flew to his omega's room. Finally, finally, it was happening. If he was being honest, it would be his first heat too. Vanessa had teased him mercilessly, but shush. He could do this. It was just sex.

Okay, here goes. He opened the door and the smell of omega heat was overwhelming, so he blindly stepped in, closing the door. He saw Peter, who was immediately pouncing on him.

"Holy...!" was all Wade managed before he was shoved against the door with superhuman strength. Peter usually held back, but he was too far gone. No matter. The alpha groaned, reversing their positions so that he could press himself between Peter's legs when he lifted him up. The omega was whining lowly, eagerly pulling at their clothes.

"Please!" Peter panted as soon as their lips parted. Wade nibbled on his neck, but didn't mark him. Not yet. They hadn't discussed the option.

"Are you sure, spiderling?"

"Yes, God, yes..." The omega was growing desperate. His heat hit him hard.

"Not God, Deadpool," the alpha teased as he put Peter down to take off his pants. They each undressed themselves, then Wade tossed Peter into bed. The omega let himself be manhandled, whimpering in need. 

* * *

 

The next time they saw Peter, Stephen and Steve exchanged a meaningful look. They could both tell that the little omega of their group had been claimed. It didn't bother them much. After all, they knew Wade and all that, so it was about time. Bucky noticed too, but Tony was blissfully ignorant, not acting any different. Until Peter bent over to pick something up and a black bruise on his neck became obvious. Tony froze, staring.

"Iron dad?" Peter asked.

"What did you do?" the older omega whispered in horror.

"What?" The boy reached with a hand to his neck. "Oh... Oh! No, it's not a mark." He pulled on his collar to show the other man. "It's just a love bite." Tony visibly relaxed. "I mean, it's a bit... too soon for a mark, I guess? I kinda feel bad for putting all these bumps in our relationship though..."

"Don't!" Tony said quickly. "Kid, you deserve to get things when you're comfortable with them."

"That's what Wade says, too." At least something good could come out of that mouth. "But I don't know..."

"Do you want to regret it later? I mean, look at me. I asked Steve to mark me and then had no idea whatsoever how to get rid of it. I ended up asking Stephen to bite me too soon just so I wouldn't bear another's mark while we were together. It ended well, but if it hadn't, I would have been stuck with another mark I hated. It's like a domino game. So don't you dare make the same mistake!"

Peter actually considered that for a few moments. He didn't want to think about it, but if they ended things for any reason, he'd be stuck with the mark, the way Tony had. It was a big decision to make so young. After all, they had all the time in the world.

"Okay. Thanks, Iron dad." 

* * *

 

When Peter got kidnapped on campus, all he could tell the men who'd shoved him into a van was "You guys are so dead." They laughed, but Peter wasn't even threatening them. If Wade got to them first, they were dead. If the Avengers did, given his previous experiences, they could end up in Hell.

But first, they got to do a number on him. When they realised that he wasn't anywhere close to his heat (taking Stark subdermal suppressants during exam month, thank you very much), one of them came with another idea that played on his being an omega. A mark. At that, he started struggling against the chains (are you kidding me? Chains?) binding him, succeeding in bending them, but not breaking free.

"Ah, that would actually hurt, huh? This will teach Wade to mind his own business."

At least he now knew why he was kidnapped. He managed to break free and put up a decent fight before they knocked him out.

* * *

 

He woke up later to wails of pain and Wade's usual battle comments. The side of his neck hurt and he numbly reached up to touch it. His eyes opened blearily, just enough to see the drops of blood on his fingertips.

Peter lost consciousness again. 

* * *

 

He was distantly aware of screams of pure rage against his alpha... was it his alpha? He bore another's mark now.

"What kind of people do you even make enemies with?"

"Tony..."

"I didn't get marked in fucking Afganistan! As a prisoner!"

"Tony!"

"No! I told you guys this would end badly, but fuck! This went beyond my expectations!"

"Tony, shut up," a familiar baritone growled. "He's waking up." His body forced itself awake at the mere implication. He was still their omega, even claimed by another. "Oh! Take your time, Peter. I'm sorry."

Stephen's face soon came into view.

"What happened?"

"You were drugged. Somehow, it reacted badly with your spider serum."

"That makes sense..." The boy was still numb. "Wade?" The alpha quickly came by his other side.

"I'm here."

"You're fine..."

"Always. Don't worry about me."

"I was marked." It was hard to miss the alpha's frown. Peter's face fell.

"I don't know which one marked you, but all those fuckers are dead."

"That means you have a symbolic mark," Bucky explained. Peter pulled himself up to look around the room. His 4 dads were all there. Steve had a hand over Tony's mouth. "It doesn't matter. Purely aesthetic."

Peter nodded and lifted a hand to feel around his neck. He came across a bandage.

"Leave it there for a few days," Stephen advised, deliberately gentling his voice. Peter's hand fell by his side. Why was he so obedient? Usually, he could sort of ignore the other's words. Again, Bucky was the one who answered.

"You're now part of the pack as a grown-up, no longer a kid. The mains affect you more, especially since you don't have an alpha..."

The boy sighed. Stephen looked around for a few moments. Tony looked like he wanted to talk, but Steve was still covering his mouth. If only his omega could see how guilty Wade actually looked... Bucky was sitting on a nearby chair, assessing the situation.

"You seem to be recovering well. Do you want us to stay?"

"I..." Peter looked at his fathers. Tony had still not said anything, not that Steve would let him. Stephen had ordered him to keep silent, too. "I want to talk to Wade. Alone."

"You heard him." Stephen stood up and gathered his omega on his way out. Bucky and Steve followed.

Peter and Wade stayed in silence for a few moments.

"I'm sorry you went through this because of me," Wade began. Peter nodded, lower lip trembling. "I understand if you're angry or done." The omega's eyes widened.

"Done?"

Wade sighed.

"Yeah. Your omega dad has a point. I... I'm dangerous. If it's too much for you, I understand." He didn't like it, but he understood.

"Mark me," Peter asked of him instead. Wade's brain bluescreened. "Preferably now, though doctor dad seems to have ordered me not to take the bandage off."

Wade chuckled.

"Welcome to the pack, spiderling. Whatever he says goes. Though it'll ease a bit after I mark you."

"Why?"

"You'll be on equal footing to me, which is... somewhere after captain colonialist, but before some others." Wade shrugged. It just worked that way. Omegas couldn't order others around, but if their alpha was high enough, they could ignore soft orders. Peter wouldn't have to go out of his way to do everything Stephen suggested.

"Could you take off the bandage?"

"Yeah, but... maybe we should let it heal first." Wade pressed a bit on the wound, making Peter tense.

"Why? I just... I just want to forget this ever happened," the omega whined.

Wade shifted uncomfortably, then nodded and pulled Peter on his lap. He pulled off the bandage, revealing the wound underneath. It looked pretty ugly. He was about to make it worse. The main alpha was going to kill him.

"It looks that bad?"

"Well, let's just say I would be lying if I said no."

"Just do it." Peter tilted his head back to give him more room to work.

"Ok."

Wade didn't waste any time and dug in. Peter whined deeply, in a way he had only heard Tony once or twice. Wade growled, but immediately pulled back and frantically looked around for a new bandage. Peter held the old one to the new mark, feeling faint again. His eyes slid closed.

"Peter? Shit!"

Then darkness.

* * *

 

When Wade came out with a guilty face, Tony looked ready for murder. Stephen and Steve shared a knowing look before the main alpha rushed in for the medical part. All in all, their little omega looked good. Wade did know how to treat a bite. Still, Tony was murderous.

"I didn't want things to go like that, either," Wade tried to defend himself.

"Well, now he's stuck with you," Tony growled.

"Tony, **enough** ," Steve tried. The omega glared at him. It was pretty damn convenient that he bore the main alpha's mark.

"You're just going to let it slide? Typical alpha."

"Okay, what do you want me to do now?" Wade snapped. "You want me to apologize on my fucking knees? I will, but not to you, tin can! I have no apology to make to you because guess what? Peter is his own person and makes his own fucking choices!"

"I want you to act as if you care about him more than if he was an object!" Tony snapped. "He was marked, you marked him to claim what is yours. Bet you didn't even hesitate. That's what you alphas are! Just mindless animals!"

Steve kept his mouth shut at that. While he was (more than a bit) offended, he knew he was quite responsible for Tony's bad opinion of alphas. Still, ouch! His eyes searched for Bucky, who was dragging out Stephen. Ah, great, incoming drama.

"Well, maybe if you omegas weren't fragile little flowers, we wouldn't..."

" ** _ENOUGH_**." And that was how Steve knew a main alpha sounded. He never got to hear it from Stephen unless it was directed at himself, but damn, was it efficient. Both culprits froze. "Wade, Peter's exhausted. When he wakes up, I'll make you two a portal to return to your university. Until then, stay there." He pointed towards the hospital room. Wade darted in. As if he would go anywhere else. Stephen turned towards Tony with a mixture of anger, betrayal and disappointment.

"I didn't..." the omega didn't get to speak.

"Shut up." His voice had gentled, feelings slipping through. Stephen shook his head. No. He was the main. "I don't wanna see you until tomorrow at least." Tony hesitated, obviously conflicted. His alpha was angry, maybe hurt. His instincts were screaming at him to soothe his mate. At the same time, he'd been ordered to avoid him. "I said **scram**."

The omega spun around and left. Stephen sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"You know Tony didn't mean you." Bucky began. Stephen glared at him. The beta weighted his next words carefully. Hurt and anger mixed in alphas. An angry alpha was half a step away from a violent alpha. "If there is no medical emergency, we can finish here." Steve nodded.

"There isn't. Peter is just exhausted. He should be fine in a few hours," the main alpha informed. After a few moments of weighting his choices, he continued "Call me when he wakes up." He opened a portal. "And thanks."

As soon as the pair was alone, Steve collapsed into a chair with a defeated sigh. That could have gone better. Bucky sat down and held his hand.

"They'll be fine."

The captain huffed in disbelief.

"It's my fault Tony's like this with alphas."

"No, it's not. While you didn't help, he already had a bad pattern going," the beta easily denied. "Besides, you've changed. If anything, it should make him consider himself a bad influence."

Steve frowned, thinking about it. Bucky had a point. He hadn't been anywhere near as bad before or after Tony, just during. The omega was a typical alpha enabler.

"Should we warn Strange?" Though, to be fair, there was a lot of room for more alpha-like behaviour, earlier 5 minutes notwithstanding.

"I think he already knows."

"Fair enough. Let's check on the kids."

Wade turned towards them as soon as they entered. He looked like he expected more screaming. Steve had tried (and somehow managed) to understand. The merc had enemies and those enemies had gone for Peter. While he should've been more careful, he couldn't just tie Peter down and cover him in bubble wrap.

"Where were you when he was kidnapped?" The younger alpha gulped, looking down. Steve waited, but he was being defied. The bowed head was an apology. "Well?" he pressed.

"With my sister," he finally admitted. "They said they'd take something I cared about more than my life. I thought they'd meant her." So he'd had a warning. Tony was right to scream. But then again... "If you wanna yell at me, go on. I'm pretty sure I won't be dropping by anymore, anyway."

"We're trying really, really hard not to yell at you," Steve admitted.

"Peter will drag you to the Tower," Bucky pointed out.

"We can stay at aunt hottie." Fair enough. "Why are you here?"

"For Peter, mostly," Steve admitted. Main parents were going through a rough patch, so they needed to look after their kid more than ever.

"Ok."

They stood in silence until Peter woke up. He looked a lot better, his healing factor finally kicking in. They called Stephen, who opened a portal, but not before he gave the omega a protective charm. It would cast a shield when he felt threatened.

"Cool! Thanks, doctor dad!"

The young pair left after Peter hugged each of his fathers. He was disappointed that Tony wasn't around, though. Wade promised to explain things to him later. 

* * *

 

Stephen answered his phone a few hours later without checking the caller.

"Please tell me you made up with iron dad."

He smiled. Peter. Of course.

"I'm not angry with him. Don't worry about it."

"Then why don't you want to see him?"

"That's my problem. I just need some time. Let me meditate on it. The sooner I'm done with that, the sooner I'll talk to Tony."

A pause.

"Alright. Just..."

"I know. Don't worry about it. Focus on your own relationship problems."

"Ok."

* * *

 

"So what did Dumbledore say?" Wade asked. He had been sprawled on the couch while Peter had been speaking on the phone.

"That I should focus on us rather than them."

"Why is it that you get 5 parents and others get none?"

Peter thought about it. He'd already lost 3 parental figures, now he had 5. Yes, the losses still hurt, but he was luckier than many.

And Wade... holy shit, Wade only had his sister! Of course he would protect her!

"I don't know," the omega replied truthfully. Wade just rolled his eyes and made room for him on the couch. Peter came with a blanket and they cuddled.

"I'm sorry you went through all that because of me. No, wait." The merc slid to the floor. "I'm really sorry about everything."

Peter stared at him. Was he kneeling? What the hell?

"Get up, get up! I'm not angry with you! What the fuck?"

Wade returned to his side. He wasn't smiling or making stupid jokes. Peter's senses were ringing the alarm. Then the alpha spoke.

"Your iron dad was really angry with me, understandably so. I didn't apologize to him. I have no reason to apologize to anyone but you. And to you, I owe a big fat one. I promised you that I wouldn't drag you into my work, that you wouldn't be in danger and I would protect you. I broke all these promises, yet you forgave me. I'm not gonna go all 'I don't deserve you' cuz that's stupid and cheapens your forgiveness. But I am sorry and I will do my best not to let it happen again."

Peter was speechless. He had, sort of, expected Wade to apologize, maybe bring him a nice gift or something, but this was something else entirely.

"I love you," the omega finally said. 

* * *

 

Tony warily glanced at his alpha, who had pretty much spawned in his workshop.

"You said until tomorrow."

"Technically, it's past midnight and tomorrow, not that I expected you to notice," the doctor pointed out.

"How did you know I was here?"

"You always pull all-nighters when you've got something bothering you."

"Fair point. But I still don't know what I want to say to you, so maybe we can talk after sunrise?" the omega offered.

Stephen sighed. He was leaning against an empty working table a few meters away from his mate.

"No." Tony visibly deflated and spun around to face him. "Do you love me?" The omega paled, but nodded eagerly. "Do you understand who I am? No, what I am?" Again, Tony nodded. "Say it."

"You're Doctor Stephen Strange, ex-neurosurgeon and current Sorcerer Supreme, honorary member of the Avengers." Stephen was still waiting. "My alpha."

"Process the last one."

Tony groaned in frustration.

"You're different."

"I'm not. I'm an alpha."

"Yes, you are." The omega smiled playfully. "You're softer." He found himself pinned against the desk he'd been sitting at. His heart sped up, but he still met Stephen's eyes evenly. "Is this supposed to scare me?"

"No, but I want you to keep this in mind: I'm the main alpha. Whenever you insult alphas, that's reflected on me. Whenever you let your mother hen instincts lead your brain, that's also on me." Tony huffed.

"Not everything is about you." He winced when he was pressed harder against the desk.

"Also, alphas are individuals. If you only attracted the shitty ones, that's totally on you." An image of Howard briefly flashed through his mind. No. Hell no. Tony tried to push against the other man, but he refused to move. "I know the pattern eventually stopped, but ..."

"Shut up! Shut up!" Stephen stopped when he noticed how distraught Tony was and took a step back. The omega slid away. "You don't know shit about me! Stop pretending that I'm more than a good accessory to the great main alpha of the Avengers, like I come with the title of main or some shit! You only keep me around to control me and when I step out of line, you shove me back down!" Tony was now shaking. "I was wrong, you're no better than Steve! You're no better than any other stupid fucking alpha I let knot me!" He couldn't control himself. He was chocking, his father was once again looking down at him for being an omega...

"Tony, breathe."

"Fuck off..." Still, he listened to his mate who coached him through his panic attack. When Tony felt remotely human again, he clung to Stephen. "I'm sorry." The alpha didn't answer, but Tony felt arms around him, under his legs (when did he get to the floor?) and then he was lifted bridal style and the other man was walking. "Where are you taking me?"

"Bed."

"Are you still angry?"

"More at myself than you. We'll talk about this tomorrow." Tony was in his pyjamas. He held on to his alpha's arms when he was put down in bed. "I love you." 

* * *

 

"Master of the sanctum implies you guarding the sanctum," Wong scolded Stephen that night. The alpha growled at him, but, like any beta, Wong was completely unimpressed.

"There are like 10 other people around, give me a break."

The other man gentled. He usually softened a bit when Stephen used words instead of intimidation.

"Long day?"

"Peter got kidnapped by his alpha's enemies and marked. He's back with his mate now. Wade bit him over the unwanted mark. I also gave Tony a panic attack." He ran his shaky hands through his hair in sheer frustration. How could he have not seen it sooner? Tony was obviously going after alphas like his father. The Cloak lifted a cup of tea, which he gratefully took with both hands. "Thanks."

"What happened with your mate?" Now he had the beta's sympathy.

"I don't want to talk about it. I just want to sleep and pretend today never happened."

Wong nodded.

"There's a meeting tomorrow morning at Kamar Taj. Don't be late."

"Okay."

* * *

 

This time, Tony was at the sanctum. Nameless underling no 5 let him in and told him that Stephen was away and would be back later. By the time the sorcerer returned to his bedroom, the omega was running scans of the Cloak of Levitation.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to see if the Cloak speaks. There should be some energetic output if he does. He says he does."

Stephen rolled his eyes, but left them at it while he took a shower, then returned, still in his robes.

"We should talk."

"Yep," the engineer easily agreed. He was more confident after having set his thoughts in order. Stephen sat down on his bed. "Sorry, buddy, not today." The Cloak deflated and left the room. Tony turned towards his mate. "Here goes nothing. I'm sorry I made you feel like shit. I know I did and I'll stop doing it. I won't complain about alphas anymore. But you need to stop using intimidation on me."

"I will," Stephen agreed. "I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me. I don't usually..."

"I know. But I told you that denying your nature has consequences."

"I don't deny my nature. I just don't overindulge," the alpha retorted stubbornly. "Besides, yesterday doesn't even count as me snapping. Wade was apologetic and you kept tearing into him." Tony frowned. "Not even hormonal alphas kick you when you're down. He snapped back. You kept at it. Honestly, I should have intervened earlier."

Tony stood silent.

"He loves Peter," Stephen eventually said.

"I know. He did apologize on his knees, by the way. Peter texted me about it."

Of course he did. Stephen rolled his eyes. If they had met Wade under literally any other circumstances, he and Tony would get along splendidly. Ah well.

"I'll have to apologize to him," the omega grumbled.

"Yes."

"But do you forgive me?"

Stephen smiled and pulled him into his arms.

"That was never a question."

* * *

 

# Epilogue

"I can't believe university is over," Wade mumbled as Vanessa fixed his academic cap.

"I can't believe you actually graduated," she retorted.

He rolled his eyes and went to meet Peter. His sister followed. They were going in style. Tony was coming with them and they were taking a limo.

"We did it!" Peter cheered, bouncing all over the place. His line of parents followed.

"What are you doing afterwards? Tony asked. "We could use you at Stark Industries."

Peter faltered.

"I... I thought we could move to Canada."

"We sold our house there," Wade pointed out. "And Vanessa is here. If you wanna go back to New York, I'm game. Just tell me where to send my job application." He wrapped an arm around Peter's shoulders. "The quicker I get out of this shithole, the better."

"You could work for Stark Industries too," Tony offered. Wade seemed surprised. "I've seen your teleporter. Nice tech." The alpha blushed. Being praised by Tony Stark? Holy crap!

"Really?"

"Yeah. You'll both have to start from the bottom and work your way up, of course."

"But I'm Spiderman!" Peter complained.

"That's your second job," Steve pointed out.

"Wait, superhero-ing pays?" Wade asked. The others nodded. "Count me in, too."

Vanessa was laughing.

"If you become a superhero, I'm dressing as you for Halloween."

"Just you wait, sis. I'll even get my own theme song by then! Sung by Celine Dion!"

Aunt May was beaming, camera in hand.

"Sit still for a picture, boys!"

"We can take pictures there," Peter complained.

"No, you'll run off. Sit still."

The two had their picture taken right in front of the limo. Then they all got in and left...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, what an adventure. Hope you all at least marginally enjoyed this.


End file.
